legal cost due to failed Adverse Possession jj

wesleyad

D_M_E wrote: »

G_M - if legal costs cannot be claimed, why do we see here on the forums tales of solicitors claiming such costs through the courts and obtaining a CCJ against the defendant as a result?

Think legal costs in terms of the small claims track means that if you employ a solicitor to do it for you in small claims their costs cannot be added to claim but the cost - about £60 I think - of making the claim can be added to the claim.

So i think a small claims court action could be the way to go but the decision is up to the OP.

I would have thought you are correct (although you never know), the legal costs that cannot be claimed are those that accumulate whilst using a solicitor for another matter, it's to stop the small claims track getting too messy.

This is a claim for damages, that just happens to be legal (for example you could sue a solicitor on the small claims track for damages if they were negligent etc.)

I dont know what chances of winning are, I guess the argument they would put forward was that you didn't have to get a solicitor (I agree in your situation it was wise). Having the LR back you up and say they advised you to would help.

Davesnave

I think the problem here is that the evidence refuting the claim was all there and could have been presented by the OP, but they chose to hire a solicitor incurring 'unnecessary' costs.

Our family went through something similar, with a neighbour making vexatious claims to impede building work. The title plan wasn't very clear, but the neighbour had no case and his solicitor's submission to the Land Registry was a litany of lies, including allegations of police involvement, which there'd been, but only to caution the neighbour, who'd been shouting and swearing, kicking the door and banging on the windows of the pensioners next door. In their submission, it was the pensioners the police had warned to keep the peace!

Our family also hired an expensive solicitor, who waffled a great deal and wrote stuff we barely understood, all for something like £260/hr. No doubt he prepared a brilliant case for the Ajudicator, but on the day before the hearing, the neighbour withdrew all their claims.

It cost our side about £6.5k. We just sucked it up because in the context of the build, it wasn't a huge amount. We concluded that as a solicitor had presented the neighbour's case, it was likely that all the guff they'd written would be like evidence and allegations in a court of law, where the usual rules about defamation etc don't appear to apply.

Anyway, we just got on with the building, not that we ever stopped, despite the council planning officer advising us that 'it might be wise to wait.' None of his business, but then the idiot next door was no doubt giving the council grief too.


These people exist. It didn't do him any good. When the area was re-surveyed, it was discovered that the neighbour's parking space was actually 0.75m over the boundary. Karma.

AdrianC

G_M wrote: »

As I recall, on the Small Claims Track, legal costs cannot be claimed.

If the only costs OP is claiming is his legal costs from the original dispute, would the court award these.....?

AIUI, small claims cannot include legal costs incurred in that claim...

I don't believe there's anything preventing the claim itself being for legal costs incurred on another matter, but I may well be wrong.

00ec25

patently you had your own solicitor since those are the costs you are talking about so what did they say? Surely they would have said they would seek costs if that were possible as part of the settlement?

the fact they apparently did not confirms you have to take a separate action for that award and as above that is a case in its own right

sorry, not what you want to hear and I agree the law favours those who can pay for it - always has been

G_M

D_M_E wrote: »

G_M - if legal costs cannot be claimed, why do we see here on the forums tales of solicitors claiming such costs through the courts and obtaining a CCJ against the defendant as a result?

Think legal costs in terms of the small claims track means that if you employ a solicitor to do it for you in small claims their costs cannot be added to claim but the cost - about £60 I think - of making the claim can be added to the claim.

So i think a small claims court action could be the way to go but the decision is up to the OP.

Court costs can be claimed by the winning side ie the cost of entering the claim or entering the defense.


But legal costs ie solitors fees for advice or representation cannot.

AIUI, small claims cannot include legal costs incurred in that claim...

I don't believe there's anything preventing the claim itself being for legal costs incurred on another matter, but I may well be wrong.

Indeed. I agree, which is why I posed my post (10) as a question............