As of the 1^st October 2023, the civil court system will see some significant changes, including the introduction of the new claims track in the rolling out of a fixed costs regime for claims worth between £10,000 and £100,000. 

Currently, any claim issued in the civil courts will be allocated to a “track” on the basis of its complexity and value.  The current tracks are:

• Small Claims Track: for claims of up to £10,000;
• Fast Track: for claims between £10,000 and up to £25,000; and
• Multi-Track: for claims of £25,000 and above.

Each claims track has its own procedure and standard directions, with a view to dealing with cases simply and swiftly in the Small Claims Track, and allowing more but appropriate court time and resources to deal with the more complex cases for those allocated to the Fast and Multi-Track.

The new claims track will be inserted between the Fast Track and Multi-Track to create an “Intermediate Track”, which will be subject to the new fixed costs regime.

So, what claims will fall into the new Intermediate Track?

The new Intermediate Track will apply to all cases with a value between £25,000 and up to £100,000 provided that:

• The trial will last no longer than three days;
• No more than two experts per party will be called;
• No more than three parties are involved (i.e. no more than either two claimants and one defendant, or one claimant and two defendants); and
• There are no other factors which would mean that the case is more suited to an alternative claims track.

The Intermediate Track will attempt to deal with claims in a more expedited way than the Multi-Track is able to, and the standard directions will reflect the fact that this track is intended to apply to the more straight-forward cases which used to fall into the Multi-Track due to their value, but where the underlying issues were not complex.

Exceptions

The majority of mesothelioma/ asbestos lung disease claims, clinical negligence claims, harm and abuse of children or vulnerable adults claims, and claims against the police for intentional or reckless tort or human rights breaches, will be excluded from the new claims track and will likely be allocated to the Multi-Track.

Fixed Costs Regime

All claims within the Fast Track and Intermediate Track will be allocated to a “complexity band” within the track, with Band 1 cases being the least complex and with Band 4 cases being the most complex cases.  The guidance currently states that Bands 2 and 3 will be the usual bands for the majority of cases.

Once assigned to a Band, the new rules set out specific recoverable costs at each stage of proceedings including:

1. If the Parties reach a settlement prior to proceedings being issued;
2. If proceedings are issued but discontinued or settled before trial; and
3. If the claim is disposed of at trial.

The government has issued a draft document setting out the specific recoverable costs, which is available here, however the key areas to note are:

1. Fast Track

• For claims allocated to the highest complexity band, the maximum recoverable costs is £7,900 plus an amount equal to 40% of the damages awarded (plus £760 per additional defendant).
• The maximum recoverable trial advocacy fees (i.e. those in claims for more than £15,000) is £2,900.
• A maximum of £1,500 may also be awarded in relation to specialist legal advice, limited to £1,000 for advice provided after the claim is issued, and £500 for drafting a statement of case (i.e. the Particulars of Claim or the Defence).

Therefore, the maximum fixed costs recoverable in a claim in which £25,000 in damages is awarded by the court would be £22,300.

2. Intermediate Track

• For claims allocated to the highest complexity band, the maximum recoverable costs is £29,000 plus an amount equal to 22% of the damages awarded (less £1,400 if that party did not prepare the trial bundle).
• A maximum fee of £1,400 per day is recoverable in relation to the attendance of a legal representative at trial who is not the trial advocate (less 50% per day where any day of the trial lasts no more than half a day).
• The maximum recoverable trial advocacy fees is £5,800 for the first day of the trial, plus £2,900 per additional day (less 50% where any subsequent day lasts no more than half a day).
• A maximum of £1,200 may also be awarded in relation to attendance at a mediation or joint settlement meeting, plus £2,300 in relation to specialist legal representation at a mediation or joint settlement meeting.
• In the event that a judgment is reserved, a fee of £580 is recoverable

Therefore, the maximum fixed costs recoverable in a claim in which £100,000 in damages is awarded by the court would be £70,880.

Practical Considerations

The above changes come into effect as of 1^st October 2023, which means that any claims issued before that date will be subject to the previous rules such as costs being assessed by the Court.  However, it is important that parties continue to comply with pre-action rules, and we would advise potential claimants not to issue their claim prematurely if they wish to avoid the new fixed costs regime.  It is therefore important that you do not delay in seeking advice about your potential claim.

If you believe that you have a potential claim and would like to speak to someone about the redundancy process, please contact Victoria Ramshaw in our Employment and Dispute Resolution Team on 01543 267 238 or email vramshaw@ansons.law

If you would like to be kept up to date with Ansons news please follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter