Guiliano Davide Stella v Hodge Jones & Allan LLP
[2024] EWHC 1704 (SCCO)
Lisa Pickering v Thomas Mansfield Solicitors Limited
10 May 2024
[2024] EWHC 1107 (SCCO)
Senior Courts Costs Office
A client wanted to get her old solicitor's bills checked for fairness. The judge said the bills were okay, despite not being perfectly clear about what had already been paid. The solicitor wanted more money upfront before the check happened, but the judge said no because the client already had ways to pay the solicitor if needed and the solicitor's fees seemed too high.
Key Facts
- •Claimant sought assessment of solicitor's invoices totaling £2,533,579.14 (with £1,175,849.50 paid on account).
- •Invoices lacked detailed information on payments on account, leading to a dispute over whether they were statutory bills.
- •Defendants argued invoices were statutory bills and offered assessment conditional on a further £980,000 interim payment.
- •The case involved multiple, complex proceedings (Property, Portbond, Caprina).
- •Significant concerns raised about the high level of costs claimed, particularly considering the family dispute context.
- •Disputes over the interpretation of 'amount of the bill' under section 70(9) of the Solicitors Act 1974.
- •Concerns raised about potential negligence by the defendant solicitors.
Legal Principles
A solicitor's bill must provide sufficient information to allow the client to obtain advice on taxation, balancing the client's right to seek taxation with the solicitor's right to recover fees.
Ralph Hume Garry v Gwillim [2002] EWCA Civ 1500
A bill is presumed to be a statutory bill unless the client shows otherwise.
Solicitors Act 1974, section 69(2E)
The court has discretion to make assessment conditional on interim payments, but not on terms as to the costs of assessment.
Solicitors Act 1974, section 70
The 'amount of the bill' for the purposes of the 1/5th rule is the full sum demanded, not the sum after interim payments.
Karatysz v SGI Legal LLP [2022] EWCA Civ 1388
Outcomes
The invoices were deemed statutory bills.
Despite some ambiguity, the invoices, together with accompanying timesheets and ledgers, provided sufficient information for the claimant to make an informed decision about assessment. The claimant also possessed sufficient knowledge of interim payments.
No further interim payment was ordered.
The court was not satisfied with sufficient confidence that a further sum would be due after assessment, given concerns about the high level of costs and potential for significant reductions. Existing security (undertakings relating to the sale of Edlington) was deemed sufficient.