Getting to grips with provisional assessment of bills of cost

On 1 April 2013, the provisional assessment of Civil Bills of Costs with a value of up to £75,000 was introduced. Such bills have only recently begun to be assessed, so it is too early to say how this is working in practice. Practitioners should nonetheless be mindful to follow the new procedure '¨and remember what they '¨

need to do.

The relevant part of the CPR is CPR 47.15 and PD 47 section 14. There is no substitute for reading the Rule and Practice Direction.

When detailed assessment proceedings are commenced

'¨on or after 1 April 2013 and where the bill amounts to £75,000 or less, the bill will be provisionally assessed by the court (unless the court decides that it is unsuitable for provisional assessment, when '¨a detailed assessment will '¨take place).
form N258 to the court, together with all the documents listed on it and including a copy of the bill, the Points of Dispute in form precedent G (which sets out in one document the Points of Dispute, the Replies and a section for the court's decision), a sealed envelope containing any offers made and a statement of the costs claimed in respect of the detailed assessment (those costs being capped at £1,500, although I would suggest that to this should be added VAT and the court fee. Whether any success fee can be added is '¨a moot point).
, however, notify the parties of the date set for such assessment. Following assessment, the court will return precedent G to the parties with the court's decision and the parties must then agree the arithmetic within 14 days and notify the court of the agreed sum. If the parties cannot agree then they must ask the court to determine the appropriate sum which the court will do upon consideration of written submissions.

Parties should send

The court will use its best endeavours to provisionally assess the bill within six weeks of receipt. Although no parties are entitled to attend, the court will

C

hallenging assessments

Any party

dissatisfied with the assessment can apply for an oral hearing, which, save in exceptional circumstances, must be requested within 21 days. Any such request must identify the items that

are sought to be reviewed and provide a time estimate for the hearing.

However, be warned: any party who requests an oral hearing will pay the costs of that hearing unless it achieves an adjustment in its own favour of 20 per cent or more of the sum provisionally assessed unless the

court otherwise orders.
So if the bill is provisionally assessed at £50,000, the receiving party would have to persuade the court to allow £60,000 or the paying party would need to persuade the court to reduce the amount allowed to £40,000.
'¨as to the costs order of the initial provisional assessment, this '¨will be determined without '¨a hearing, the court having invited the parties to file their written submissions. SJ

If a party wishes to be heard