Philip John Mainwaring v Susan Claire Bailey (Costs)
[2024] EWHC 2614 (Fam)
Miah Ibar Lone v Michael Andreas Petrou
29 January 2024
[2024] EWHC 153 (KB)
High Court
A solicitor lost a case and appealed, but the judge said his appeal was bad because he didn't provide enough evidence and made the same arguments twice. The judge threw out the appeal and made the solicitor pay more money.
Key Facts
- •Appeal against two costs decisions of Judge Leonard made in 2017 and 2022.
- •2017 decision: Claimant's costs assessed at £104,060, Claimant to pay Defendant's costs of £21,285.
- •2022 decision (consent order): Defendant owed Claimant £78,513, further costs orders made regarding previous hearings and the appeal.
- •Appellant (Claimant) appealed on 14 grounds, many relating to consent orders or a previous unsuccessful appeal.
- •Appellant, a solicitor, failed to provide crucial documents and transcripts to the court.
- •Appellant made allegations of bias against the judge without sufficient evidence.
Legal Principles
Permission to appeal requires a real prospect of success or other compelling reason.
CPR 52.6(1)
Real prospect of success means realistic, not fanciful, prospects.
Swain v Hillman [2001] 1 All ER 91
Appellant doesn't need to prove >50% chance of success.
Tanfern Ltd v Cameron-MacDonald [2000] 1 WLR 1311
Appeals are reviews of lower court decisions; challenges to findings of fact require a high threshold—the judge must be plainly wrong.
Henderson v Foxworth [2014] UKSC 41, Grizzly Business v Stena Drilling [2017] EWCA Civ. 94, Deutsche Bank AG v Sebastian Holdings [2023] EWCA Civ. 191, Volpi v Volpi [2022] EWCA Civ. 464
Appeals against case management decisions have a high threshold; the court respects the judge's discretion unless plainly wrong.
Royal & Sun v T & N [2002] EWCA Civ. 1964, Mitchell v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ. 1537, Clearway Drainage Systems Ltd v Miles Smith Ltd [2016] EWCA Civ. 1258
Consent orders can only be set aside in limited circumstances (fraud, misrepresentation, mutual mistake etc.).
Not explicitly sourced but implied throughout the judgment.
Section 70 of the Solicitors Act 1974 governs costs of assessment, including the 1/5 rule and 'special circumstances'.
Solicitors Act 1974, s. 70
The 1/5 rule applies to the overall bill, not individual components.
Wilson solicitors LLP v Bentine
'Special circumstances' require something significantly out of the ordinary to justify departing from the 1/5 rule.
Stone Rowe Brewer LLP v Just Costs Ltd [2015] EWCA Civ 1168
Outcomes
Permission to appeal refused.
None of the grounds of appeal had a realistic prospect of success. Many grounds were based on consent orders, previous unsuccessful appeals, or lacked supporting evidence. The appellant's conduct, including failure to provide necessary documents, was criticized.
Stay on paragraphs 4-7 of the May 2022 order terminated.
The appeal was deemed without merit.
Costs awarded against the appellant.
The appeal was deemed totally without merit.