Offer as advantageous as judgment

(2) Intercontinental Brands (Holdings) Ltd (3) Incorporated Beverages (Jersey) Ltd (Costs) [2010] EWHC 172 (Pat), 2 February; SJ 9 February p29

Diageo, the producers of Smirnoff vodka, had obtained in a passing off action damages and an injunction against the producers of VODKAT, a mixture of vodka and fermented alcohol. Relying on a CPR Pt 36 offer made by it, Diageo sought an order for costs to be assessed on the indemnity basis. Although the damages awarded were clearly in excess of those it had been willing to accept, there was an issue as to whether the injunction it obtained was more or less advantageous to it than what it had proposed.