Costs—Assessment—Estimate of costs

Bernard Livesey QC sitting as a deputy judge of the High Court,
7 July 2010.

The Chancery Division of the High Court ruled on the issue of costs following a previous judgment on the substantive issues between the parties in respect of the construction of a term in a contract for the provision of solicitor audit services by a company owned by the first claimant to the defendant company.

James Couser (instructed by Stephenson Harwood) for the claimants. Iain Pester (instructed by Nexus, Manchester ) for the defendant.

The proceedings concerned costs awards following judgment in the substantive action, which was handed down in June 2010 (see [2010] All ER (D) 121 (Jun). The claimants submitted, inter alia, that the unsuccessful party should be ordered to pay the costs of the successful party pursuant to CPR 44.3(2)(a) and that the court should have regard to the conduct of the defendant. On those grounds the claimants’ costs should be assessed