Valuing the claim

Khiaban v Beard CA [2003] 3 All ER 362

In order to keep court fees and costs to a minimum the parties, insurers after a road traffic accident agreed that the claimant’s proceedings would be limited to the excess on his insurance policy of £125 and that the insurers would abide by the Court’s decision as to the balance of his claim. The district judge regarded this as a device to deprive the Court Service of fees and ordered the claimant to file and serve amended particulars of claim reflecting ‘the true value’ of the claim together with the appropriate court fee. When the claimant merely amended the particulars to explain the agreement between the parties, the district judge struck out the claim for breach of her order. She gave leave to appeal to a circuit judge, who considered that the issue involved an important point of principle and practice such as to justify the transfer of the appeal direct to the Court of Appeal under CPR Part 52 rule 14(1)(a). The Court of Appeal disagreed with the district judge. The word ‘claim’ only covers that which the claimant sought to recover through the Court. It was never used in a context which suggested that it included claims which had not been brought to the Court. There was nothing in the general law which obliged a claimant to include in his pleaded case all the claims which he could arguably advance against a defendant. Nor was there any such requirement in the CPR. The Court had no power to increase the financial value of a claim in respect of items of claim that had been included in the claim form and the particulars of claim. Still less did it have the power to increase the claim to include items of claim that the claimant had chosen not to include at all. The parties had done nothing objectionable. The real issue between them was liability, and the parties had been entitled to simplify the claim, limiting the amount to £125. In so doing, they had acted in accordance with the overriding objective in that expense had been saved and the case could be dealt with proportionately.