Wokuri v Kassam

Where a party’s conduct makes an application reasonably necessary, the court may order that party to pay the application costs. That includes the costs of attendance at the hearing where the applicant acted reasonably and there was no offer to resolve the costs issue. The court assesses the practical circumstances, including whether the applicant had a genuine need for the relief sought and whether reasonable efforts were made to resolve the matter without a hearing.

The judgment concerned the costs of an application arising from an earlier order made by Newey J. The defendant had been ordered to make an interim payment towards the claimant’s costs. The payment was made late and did not provide the claimant with effective access to the money because her passport, required for identification, remained with the defendant’s solicitors for forensic handwriting examination.

The claimant applied for the passport to be returned temporarily and sought the costs of the application. The remaining issue before Warren J was whether the defendant should pay the costs of the application, including the costs of attendance at the hearing.

1. The application was properly made. The claimant needed her passport to access the money transferred pursuant to the earlier costs order. She had requested its temporary return and had offered an undertaking to return it.
2. The defendant’s refusal to return the passport, despite knowing the claimant’s reason for requiring it, made the application reasonable and necessary. The defendant was therefore ordered to pay the costs of the application.
3. The claimant was also reasonable to attend the hearing to seek an order for costs. There had been no offer by the defendant to pay those costs, and the application notice itself sought costs. The submission that attendance was unnecessary was rejected as far-fetched.
4. The defendant was ordered to pay all the costs of the application, including the costs of attendance at the hearing.

The judgment records an earlier order made by Newey J after hearings on 17 and 30 January, requiring the defendant to pay the claimant’s costs of a specified application, subject to assessment if not agreed, with an interim payment of £7,500. The present judgment determined the outstanding costs issue.