CFA Agreement Advice Needed Please

Munchie

I am trying to decide whether to pursue a claim through a solicitor with a CFA Agreement.

I have been told that I will not have to pay any upfront costs as the solicitor is willing to fund the initial process. They have said that if the other party refuse to settle prior to court proceedings then they will fund the ATE insurance and therefore I will not be liable for any costs whether I win or lose.

Can any legal person in the know tell me if this is the case?

I am a little confused that the agreement states that I am liable for certain costs however the solicitor has said that is how it has to be worded so that the other party can't refuse to look at the claim. I am just concerned that I will be liable for costs.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks

olly300

The costs you are liable for are disbursements which are fees not normally occurred by the solicitor such as if they need to pay an expert for your case.

As I don't know what your case is so can't give you a relevant example but if you needed say a report from a medical consultant who specialises in a particular health area then you would be liable to pay for that report.

In this example there is nothing stopping both sides using the same medical consultant to keep costs down, and as part of their negiogiations to avoid going to court.

It depends on the solicitor how and when they present a bill to you for these. In this example some take this out of your compensation, other solicitors will want you to pay it to them before they go further with the case, while others want you to pay it straight to the particular expert yourself.

One thing to remember if you had no chance of winning the solicitor wouldn't take the case on. Some solicitors if they have any doubts refer your case to a barister first though you shouldn't pay for this.

However if they refer your case to a barister whilst the case is progressing then you would have to pay for the extra advice needed as a disbursement.

Christopher7

This is common practice, but i would still advise you check the wording of the CFA and the ATE policy carefully. Basically the After The Event policy should ensure you don't have to pay anything, but there will be exclusions, usually if you have been dishonest or have not cooperated etc.

Make sure the firm of solicitors you go with are properly regulated, so that you have some recourse if you feel unfairly treated.

Munchie

olly300 wrote: »

The costs you are liable for are disbursements which are fees not normally occurred by the solicitor such as if they need to pay an expert for your case.

As I don't know what your case is so can't give you a relevant example but if you needed say a report from a medical consultant who specialises in a particular health area then you would be liable to pay for that report.

In this example there is nothing stopping both sides using the same medical consultant to keep costs down, and as part of their negiogiations to avoid going to court.

It depends on the solicitor how and when they present a bill to you for these. In this example some take this out of your compensation, other solicitors will want you to pay it to them before they go further with the case, while others want you to pay it straight to the particular expert yourself.

One thing to remember if you had no chance of winning the solicitor wouldn't take the case on. Some solicitors if they have any doubts refer your case to a barister first though you shouldn't pay for this.

However if they refer your case to a barister whilst the case is progressing then you would have to pay for the extra advice needed as a disbursement.

I asked about the disbursements and the solicitor said that they would fund those too which is why I am confused.

The agreement says that I am liable for these costs but the solicitor was adament that I would not have to pay anything out at all, win or lose. They have to word the agreement to read that I am liable for costs so that they can claim "my" costs from the other party should I win.

The solicitor wants to write to the other party in the first instance to see if they will admit liability without going to court and then take it from there.

I am just concerned that I am going to end up out of pocket when they have told me that I won't have to pay for anything.

Munchie

Christopher7 wrote: »

This is common practice, but i would still advise you check the wording of the CFA and the ATE policy carefully. Basically the After The Event policy should ensure you don't have to pay anything, but there will be exclusions, usually if you have been dishonest or have not cooperated etc.

Make sure the firm of solicitors you go with are properly regulated, so that you have some recourse if you feel unfairly treated.

The solicitors were recommended by The Law Society so I am confident that they are properly regulated.