Costs Alternative Dispute Resolution (CADR) – the new service set up in May – has launched its alternative to provisional assessment (PA), which it said was up to 40% cheaper than having the court do it.
CADR was formally launched at an event in London last week and now has six Costs Lawyers among those on its panel.
Users of the paper-based PA alternative can choose either a binding or non-binding outcome, with the assessor completing the work within 28 days. Arithmetical decisions will be endorsed on the bill; with a non-binding assessment, a short annexure will provide brief reasons and the total amount allowed, while binding assessments will include more detailed reasons.
Non-binding assessments will cost £400 for bills of up to £50,000 and £625 for bills up to £100,000 inclusive of disbursements and VAT – higher than the courts’ current £75,000 limit – with the fees rising to £525 and £750 respectively for binding assessments. CADR will quote for the cost of assessing larger bills.
However, the assessor has no power to award any costs, which will need to be met by the client or by agreement with the other side.
Speaking at the launch, Colin Campbell (pictured) – the former SCCO judge who is now a consultant at Kain Knight and a member of the CADR panel – highlighted the problems with PA, saying that no court is meeting the six-week target to turn cases around.
“The judge’s reasons are often unhelpful and confusing,” he added. “You either cannot read his writing or there are difficulties understanding the allowances so the figures cannot be agreed. This can lead to additional costs of working out the arithmetic.”
CADR also issued the costs of its mediation service – between £250 and £500 per party depending on the value of the dispute plus the mediator’s fee – with Simon Browne QC of Temple Garden Chambers telling guests at the launch that good costs practice is to make a timely part 36 offer plus an offer to mediate, whichever side you are advising.
Costs Lawyer Keith Levene, head of costs at Pinsent Masons, made the case for using expert determination, which he described as a “simple, flexible and contract-based procedure” that involves the parties instructing a third party to decide an entire costs claim, specific issues or solicitor/own client disputes.
Unlike court or arbitration proceedings, he explained, neither party has the burden of proving its case – the expert is “required to make his decision based on the material before him”. Determination can be binding or not. “Non-binding determination can help when one issue is holding resolution up,” he explained. “The expert can provide a ‘view’ to allow the parties to move forward.”
The other five Costs Lawyers currently on the panel are Maria Barker, Andrew Bennetts, Chris Butler, John Ivory and Jon Lord. Former Senior Costs Judge Peter Hurst is also a member, as are 20 barristers, including most of the best-known names at the costs Bar.
ACL chairman Sue Nash attended the event, saying she was keen to support any initiative that promoted the use of ADR in costs.