Where personal injury claims are pursued within the Low Value
Protocols and the first instance claim is subject to fixed costs,
what costs should be allowed in relation to an appeal against the
decision of the Court? Are the costs of the appeal subject to
qualified one-way costs shifting? The Court of Appeal considered
these questions in its recent judgment in Wickes Building
Supplies Limited v Blair, the judgment in which was handed
down on 21 January 2020.
The substantive issues in this case related to the impact of the late service of documents on claims proceeding
to Stage 3 hearing in the Low Value Protocols.
Whilst Rule 52.19 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 gives an
appeal Court the discretion to limit the recoverable costs of the
appeal in any proceedings in which costs recovery is normally
limited or excluded at first instance, through providing that
discretion the appeal Court is not compelled to limit the
costs.
