APIL draws line in sand over fixed costs

John McQuater, president of APIL, said an agreement on a new procedure and fixed costs regime for road traffic accident cases under £10,000 would cover the majority of personal injury cases.

McQuater said the deal, hammered out between lawyers for claimants and defendants and mediated by the Civil Justice Council, meant that it was 'not appropriate' for Lord Justice Jackson to impose fixed fees on other fast track personal injury cases or increase the small claims limit.

APIL withdrew last month from talks on extending fixed costs, initiated by Lord Justice Jackson as part of his review of costs in civil litigation. It has been suggested that, as a result, he might consider increasing the £1,000 small claims limit in personal injury cases.

'There was no willingness to look at the process rather than just the costs,' McQuater said.

'The question of the small claims limit was gone through in detail prior to the Lord Chancellor making his announcement in 2007 that it would not be changed.'

McQuater said APIL had worked hard over the last couple of years on a new and agreed procedure to pick up the majority of personal injury claims, possibly as many as 75 per cent, and it would be wrong to undermine it.

He added that although the level of fees would be slightly lower than at present, the new procedure was quicker and required less work.

'The process will be a quicker, with fair levels of remuneration for lawyers and a better service for accident victims.'

Mark Stobbs, director of legal policy at the Law Society, has said the society 'understands entirely' why APIL withdrew from the fixed fee mediation.

He said the society was concerned by the speed of the Jackson review, and he thought it was unlikely for an acceptable regime for fast track costs to be produced within the time allowed.

He added that the society would keep its presence at the fixed fee discussions under review.

The new rules need parliamentary approval and are expected to come into force in April 2010.

Fees would be set at £400 for Stage 1( the solicitor sending the claim notification form to the insurer), £800 for Stage 2 (where liability is admitted, the solicitor obtaining a medical report and negotiating a settlement subject to a strict timetable).

Where the parties cannot agree and the case goes to court, there is a fixed fee of £250 for a paper hearing and £500 for an oral hearing.

Robert Musgrove, chief executive of the Civil Justice Council, said the 'hard fought agreement' had taken two and a half years to achieve.

'These predictable costs, together with the previously agreed costs and success fees, allow a significant proportion of the less complex claims to be resolved more quickly and proportionately,' he said.

Michael Napier, senior partner of Irwin Mitchell, helped mediate the agreement, acting as a consultant to the Civil Justice Council on a pro bono basis.

Napier resigned from the board of the LSB earlier this summer after Private Eye published details of a conflict of interest complaint against his firm.