Charles Fussell & Co LLP acting in an application to debar a defaulting party from participating in a detailed costs assessment procedure

Charles Fussell & Co LLP has an ongoing instruction in relation to a matter which was heard at trial in March to April 2015, with judgment having been handed down in July 2015. Charles Fussell & Co LLP acted for the First to Fourth and Sixth Respondents.

After a two-day hearing in respect of costs, the judge ordered the unsuccessful Petitioner to pay the First to Fourth and Sixth Respondents' costs to be assessed if not agreed. The Petitioner was ordered to make a substantial interim payment to each of the parties three weeks after judgment. On the day before payment was due, the Petitioner issued an application for permission to appeal and for a stay of execution, rehearsing similar arguments to those heard by the trial judge. The Petitioner has made no further efforts to meet his obligations under the interim payment or otherwise seek to negotiate his obligations.

Accordingly, an application has now been issued in the Chancery Division, seeking an order that unless the Petitioner meet his obligations under the interim payment order, he be debarred from participating in the detailed assessment procedure pursuant to the precedent in Days Healthcare UK Limited v Pihsiang Machinery Manufacturing Company Limited and Others [2006] All ER (D) 205 (Jun) with questions arising as to the enforceability of interim costs orders and clarity as to whether there is any acceptable reason for failure to meet such orders.

It is anticipated that the application will be heard in the early part of 2016.