Garrett v Halton Borough Council

Where a costs rule gives the court discretion to award interest from a date before judgment, interest may run from the date on which the decision was handed down. Lack of co-operation and failure to comply with directions may affect the basis of assessment, but do not automatically justify indemnity costs. The court must assess the conduct and the justification for the requests made. Where the circumstances do not warrant an indemnity order, costs remain payable on the standard basis.

The appeal from Liverpool County Court had been dismissed by the Court of Appeal on 18 July 2006. Costs were adjourned, and the matter returned for determination of the outstanding costs issues. The parties agreed that the appellant should pay the respondent’s appeal costs, subject to detailed assessment on the standard basis, and resolved the issue of payment on account.

The remaining questions were whether interest should run from 18 July 2006 or a later date, and whether the costs of restoring the appeal and attending the present hearing should be awarded on the indemnity basis.

1. Interest on costs. The appellant was ordered to pay the respondent’s costs of the appeal, subject to detailed assessment on the standard basis. CPR 44.3(6)(g) gave the court an untrammelled discretion to award interest on costs from or until a specified date, including a date before judgment. Interest was therefore ordered to run from 18 July 2006, the date on which the court handed down its decision.
2. Basis of assessment. The respondent sought indemnity costs for restoring the appeal and attending the hearing. The court accepted that there had been substantial non-co-operation by the appellant’s solicitors, failures to comply with directions, and delay in confirming agreement about liability for the appeal costs. However, it was not clear that the respondent had been entitled to make all the requests it made, including requests concerning ATE insurance. Those circumstances did not justify indemnity costs, and the costs were awarded on the standard basis.
3. The outstanding costs issues were determined accordingly.

• Court of Appeal (Civil Division) determined the outstanding costs issues following the dismissal of the appeal, ordering costs on the standard basis and interest from 18 July 2006.
• Court of Appeal (Civil Division) dismissed the appeal on 18 July 2006 and adjourned the question of costs.
• Liverpool County Court gave the judgment from which the appeal was brought; no citation is stated in the judgment.