June-25-2013 in Litigation & Dispute Resolution
In a decision reached in November 2012 and recently reported in the Irish Times, Taxing Master Mr. Declan O’Neill significantly reduced the costs being sought by a Plaintiff’s solicitor.
The Bill of Costs concerned arose out of a high value clinical negligence case. In reaching his decision the Taxing Master was highly convinced by the contention that the case was essentially one of assessment and it was on this basis that he measured the instruction fee proposed by the Plaintiff’s solicitor.
It is thought that this decision and indeed other recent Judgments of Taxing Master O’Neill will result in a much more evidence based approach to the recovery of costs. It is clear that a far greater emphasis is now being placed on the forensic analysis of files in order to justify the legal fees charged and a much higher degree of proof is required to prove that the sums claimed are reasonable. There is no doubt that legal costs are significantly less than they were previously and the new Taxing Masters are playing a significant role in achieving reductions.
This is a welcome result and whilst no two cases are ever the same, the ruling will set the landmark for future cases.
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