Costs—Payment of costs by non-party—Funder of litigation

Queen’s Bench Division, Blake J, 2 October 2009

The High Court has reviewed the principles relating to disclosure of material pertaining to orders for costs against third parties.

Gordon Wignall (instructed by Irwin Mitchell) for the interested parties.
Andrew Miller (instructed by Berrymans Lace Mawer) for the defendant.

The claimant brought an action against his former school in relation to damage caused to him through the alleged failure of the school to take proper measures to prevent him from being bullied.

The proceedings were issued in June 2006 and discontinued in March 2009. The school by that stage had incurred costs of approximately £250,000 in defending the action.

The claimant was unable to meet any costs order. The school contended that the action had been wholly misconceived, and sought an order for costs against third parties, pursuant to s 51 Supreme Court Act 1981 and CPR 48.2.

The interested parties, who had funded the action, were joined