The majority of cases do not lead to a final trial. The most common outcome is where a negotiated settlement is reached between the parties. In such circumstances, whether you recover your costs depends on the terms that you agree as part of any settlement deal.
If you have to take your case to Court and you win at trial, you are entitled to ask the Judge to make a ‘Costs Order’. The Judge will then decide whether one party should be ordered to make a contribution to another’s costs by way of a reimbursement.
The general rule in Court proceedings is that the winning party is entitled to ask for a Losts Order. However, this rule may not apply in certain circumstances, for example where value of the claim is low (cost orders are not routinely made for claims worth under £10,000) or there has been unreasonable conduct by the parties.
A costs order does not provide a full indemnity, but rather a contribution which is typically around 65% of the winning party’s actual outlay. Thereafter, the matter of recovering payment is separate and there is no certainty an opponent will have the ability to pay the amount it has been ordered to.
In any case, it pays to do investigations into the opposing party’s finances early on to gauge their ability to pay any compensation recovered and costs order made against them.
