Grounds for Detailed Assessment

Neil v Stephenson (CLW 8 December QBD)

Although the claimant, acting in person, had his action struck out he had been awarded his costs of an interim hearing. When the claim was struck out the judge acceded to the claimant’s request for a detailed assessment to give him an opportunity to demonstrate that he should be entitled to recover the value of a contract which his business had allegedly lost as a result of his attendance at the interim hearing. The fairest course was to order an expedited detailed assessment of the costs of both parties to give the litigant in person the opportunity to consider his arguments and put the case before an experienced costs judge.