On 2nd October 2023 new rules came in to force which meant that certain cases will be subject to fixed recoverable costs (FRC).
Some claims which are valued up to £25,000 will all be subject to fixed recoverable costs as set out in the Practice Direction to Part 45, Table 12. These claims are usually allocated to the Fast Track. There will be 4 complexity bands, which mean that the costs will depend on the band your case is allocated to. If the claim settles before a claim is issued, this will still be subject to FRC.
Some claims which are valued at between £25,000 and £100,000 will now also be subject to fixed recoverable costs as set out in the Practice Direction to Part 45, Table 14. These claims will be allocated to the Intermediate Track. There will be 4 complexity bands, which mean that the costs will depend on the band your case is allocated to. If the claim settles before a claim is issued, this will still be subject to FRC.
Not all civil claims will be subject to FRC.
• Cases which are excluded are:
– Housing
– Part 8 Claims
– Reputation or Public Interest
– Claims against Police
– Intellectual Property Claims
• Cases that are included are:-
– Property Claims
– Contract Disputes
– Professional Negligence Claims
– Debt Claims
– Will disputes if not Part 8 and not multi track
• Non-monetary claims are included in the FRC regime. Part 45 sets out for both tracks what the “value” of each complexity band.
The governments consultation and draft rules can be seen here
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-procedure-rules-committee/about#implementation-of-the-extended-fixed-recoverable-costs-frc-regime-october-2023
The new rules will be relevant to claims issued on or after 1st October 2023.
Most clients involved in litigation will be paying for their own Solicitors fees. If successful with the claim, the Court may order your opponent to pay your legal fees however these will now only be limited FRC meaning most, if not all litigants, will be paying the short fall for their own legal fees and will be out of pocket even if the claim is successful.
