Judge raps 'costs padding' no win, no fee solicitors

A judge has characterised the work undertaken by a firm of no win, no fee solicitors as "costs padding" in the case of a three-year-old boy who was injured on a farm.

Sopley Farm, near Christchurch, Dorset, agreed to pay damages of £3,600 for the boy's cut lip, Oxford County Court heard.

However, District Judge Richard Lumb said there was a suspicion that the costs reported by personal injury firm Express Solicitors, who represented the boy, may have been "artificially inflated" in order to reach a cap.

The firm, in Wythenshawe, Greater Manchester, said it offered good value, was clear about its charges and had not received any complaint from its client.

Judge Lumb said the firm's accounts showed nearly 90 hours of work by 14 fee earners, "all at hourly rates which were very significantly higher than the SCCO [Senior Courts Costs Office] guideline hourly rates for Manchester".

The incurred costs of £29,641.80 were way in excess of the £1,860 recoverable from the defendant, he noted.

His judgement continued: "It would appear that the solicitors were prepared to undertake tens of thousands of pounds worth of work for which they were not going to be paid.

"Any objective observer would consider that to be a very odd way for solicitors to conduct business."

The judge added: "The file reveals a considerable amount of duplication of work both by individual and other fee earners.

"There is also a considerable amount of non-progressive work undertaken that could properly be characterised as 'costs padding'."

The judge said it raised a suspicion that the costs were overstated in order for the firm to ensure that its fee would reach a capped level.

However, he said the cap would have been reached in any case, and the firm could claim a £900 success fee from the damages.

In a statement, Express said its practice was to agree a maximum amount by way of a percentage deduction that clients would ever have to pay.

Chief executive James Maxey said: "In this case the judge awarded the deductions but was somehow unhappy that the costs exceeded the pitifully low fixed costs.

"An awful lot of work was done but the contract limited the total charges to the client to an amount which ultimately the judge approved."

You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.