Costs Differential Order
by John Reid
The Court of Appeal delivered an interesting and important Judgement in relation to this topic, on the 24th of July 2018.
In the case of Jibran Moin (Plaintiff) v Veronica Sicika (Defendant) and John O’Malley (Plaintiff) v David McEvoy (Defendant) each Plaintiff was awarded Damages by the High Court but the Damages awarded were within the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court. In each case the Trial Judge in the High Court awarded costs of the Proceedings to each Plaintiff on the Circuit Court scale with a Certificate for Senior Counsel.
The Defendants in each case appealed that aspect of the High Court decision to the Court of Appeal. Essentially the Defendants/Appellants asked the Court to order the Plaintiffs in each case to pay to the Defendants/Appellants the additional costs which the Defendants/Appellants incurred by having to defend the Proceedings in the High Court rather than in the Circuit Court which was obviously the appropriate venue for these Proceedings given the level of awards made in each case. The Defendants/Appellants took the view that it was not sufficient that the Plaintiffs merely be awarded costs on the Circuit Court scale on the basis that the Defendants obviously incurred additional costs by having to defend the Proceedings in the High Court and that the Defendant/Appellants were entitled to have those additional costs paid by the Plaintiffs and/or offset against the costs awarded to them on the Circuit Court scale.
Having heard submissions the Court of Appeal agreed with the case made by the Defendant/Appellants. The Application was made pursuant to Section 17 (5) of the Courts Act, 1981 as amended by the Courts Act, 1991. The Court of Appeal in acceding to the Application of the Defendant/Appellants ordered that the Plaintiffs pay to the Defendants the amount equal to the difference between (a) the amount of the costs as between party and party incurred in the Proceedings in the High Court by the Defendants as taxed by a Taxing Master of the High Court and (b) the amount of the costs as between party and party incurred in the Proceedings by the Defendant as taxed by a Taxing Master of the High Court if the Proceedings had been heard and determined in the Circuit Court and ordered that such taxations of costs to take place in default of any agreement between the parties. The Court importantly went on to state that the additional (costs differential) incurred by each Defendant be set off against the costs awarded to each Plaintiff on the Circuit Court scale.
This Judgement is important for a number of reasons but most particularly that Plaintiffs understand that there can be significant disadvantage to bringing Proceedings in a jurisdiction which is higher than the appropriate jurisdiction in which such Proceedings should have been taken in the context of the value of the particular claim. The Plaintiff who is over ambitious with regard to his or her expectations and ultimately receives an award more appropriate to a lower Court is exposed to having a significant deduction from his or her award as party and party costs are property of the client.
If you require any further detail or advice, please contact John Reid in O’Rourke Reid
Dial: +353 1 240 1200
Email: jreid@orourkereid.com
This document is for information purposes only and does not purport to represent legal advice.
© O’Rourke Reid 2018