Notice of ATE

Inline Logistics Ltd v UCI Logistics Ltd (Ch D TLR 2 May)

The defendants had taken out an after-the-event insurance policy on 5 May 2000 to protect itself against potential liability for the costs of the trial of the substantive action between the parties, judgment in which had been given in its favour on 31 July 2000. Section 29 of the Access to Justice Act 1999 provided that insurance premiums could be recovered in a costs order but only if the relevant rules of court had been complied with. That Act came into force on 1 April 2000 but the relevant rules of court, CPR 44.15 and paragraph 19 of the Costs Practice Direction, did not come into effect until 3 July 2000. Accordingly, by the time the rules of court came into effect the time for complying with them had passed. The rules were not retrospective in their effect and it followed therefore that there existed no rules of court applicable to parties who had entered into insurance arrangements between 1 April and 2 July 2000. Nevertheless there could be no doubt that s29 of the 1999 Act had come into effect on 1 April and, as it was not necessary for the defendants to have satisfied the notice provisions contained in the subsequent rules of court, the insurance premium was recoverable.