Welcome to the twenty-seventh edition of Clyde
& Co's (Re)insurance and litigation caselaw weekly updates
for 2015
This week's caselaw:
Coventry v Lawrence
Supreme Court holds that recoverability of success fees and ATE
premiums does not breach the ECHR
http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2015/50.html
When the claimants won in the Supreme Court, Lord Neuberger
expressed concern at the level of costs incurred in this case. The
claimants' costs amounted to more than £1m, including a
success fee and ATE premium. The Defendants (who were
individuals rather than a corporate entity) argued that the
requirement to pay the success fee and ATE premium was inconsistent
with their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights
("ECHR") – specifically Article 6, the right to a
fair trial. In particular, the provisions of the Access to
Justice Act 1999 ("the Act") - which meant that such
costs were required to be paid if they were reasonable (but
