In October 2023 the Fixed Recoverable Costs ( FRC) regime was extended to try and give clarity over the costs that a winning party can recover from a losing party.  The aim is to reduce the time and expense of having to have costs assessed by the Court after the conclusion of a case.

The process is called detailed assessment and can be both time consuming and expensive. Some commercial disputes are now covered by the FRC whereas previously it was aimed at low value claims. The FRC have been extended to all civil that fall within the fast track . A new intermediate track was introduced that includes cases valued between £25,000 and £100,000.

A consideration for a commercial party will be to consider whether they wish to contract out of the FRC regime when litigation arises or progresses. It will be easier for substantial companies cover the shortfall in the costs recovered than a smaller company.

In any pre -trial negotiations it might be helpful to offer a sum in excess of the FRC allowance as part of a settlement offer to try and avoid the costs and litigation risk of going to trial.

It is always prudent to consider settlement at an early stage and a mediation can often lead to a settlement if both parties attend the mediation with a genuine desire to resolve the dispute.

If a party is unwilling to mediate it is still worth the other party offering to mediate . If  the Court decides at trial that a party has unreasonably refused to mediate they  can be penalised on costs even if they have been successful.

If you would like any further information on a litigation issue please contact Graham Young on 01483 796002 or gyoung@cheyneygoulding.co.uk