Successful Conditional Fee Agreement challenge
Most Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) challenges follow a well-trodden path. However, occasionally a new variation arises where there is no authority directly on all fours. This happened in the recent case of Smith v Carpetright plc, heard by Regional Cost Judge Sparrow in Norwich County Court.
The Claimant had entered into a CFA with Godfrey Morgan solicitors. It was a condition of the, now revoked, CFA Regulations 2000 that for a CFA to be valid the solicitor must advise the client, before the CFA is entered into, whether they recommend a particular method of funding the claim and if they recommend a particular ATE insurance policy their reasons for doing so.
The CFA in question recommended an ATE policy with Amicus. Witness evidence was served during the detailed assessment proceedings that stated that this was the policy that was also orally recommended to the client. However, the CFA itself then went on discuss an Accident Line Protect insurance policy and stated that such policies are "only made available to you by Solicitors who have joined the Accident Line Protect Scheme".
Gibbs Wyatt Stone acted for the Defendant and argued that there had been a breach of the Regulations in that it was inherently confusing as to which policy was being recommended (whether an Amicus policy or an Accident Line Protect policy) and that there had been a total failure to explain why the Amicus policy was being recommended, if it was, given the only details given had related to the Accident Line Protect policy.
The Judge held that there was real confusion in the written CFA as to what was being recommended and the likelihood was that anybody reading the CFA would consider that Amicus and Accident Line Protect were one and the same. Regardless of whether or not clear oral advice had been given, the Regulations required the advice concerning the ATE recommendation to be in writing and this had not been clearly done. This amounted to a breach which undermined consumer protection and was therefore a material breach. The CFA was held to be invalid and costs of over £90,000 were disallowed.
The Claimant is appealing this decision.
The Claimant had entered into a CFA with Godfrey Morgan solicitors. It was a condition of the, now revoked, CFA Regulations 2000 that for a CFA to be valid the solicitor must advise the client, before the CFA is entered into, whether they recommend a particular method of funding the claim and if they recommend a particular ATE insurance policy their reasons for doing so.
The CFA in question recommended an ATE policy with Amicus. Witness evidence was served during the detailed assessment proceedings that stated that this was the policy that was also orally recommended to the client. However, the CFA itself then went on discuss an Accident Line Protect insurance policy and stated that such policies are "only made available to you by Solicitors who have joined the Accident Line Protect Scheme".
Gibbs Wyatt Stone acted for the Defendant and argued that there had been a breach of the Regulations in that it was inherently confusing as to which policy was being recommended (whether an Amicus policy or an Accident Line Protect policy) and that there had been a total failure to explain why the Amicus policy was being recommended, if it was, given the only details given had related to the Accident Line Protect policy.
The Judge held that there was real confusion in the written CFA as to what was being recommended and the likelihood was that anybody reading the CFA would consider that Amicus and Accident Line Protect were one and the same. Regardless of whether or not clear oral advice had been given, the Regulations required the advice concerning the ATE recommendation to be in writing and this had not been clearly done. This amounted to a breach which undermined consumer protection and was therefore a material breach. The CFA was held to be invalid and costs of over £90,000 were disallowed.
The Claimant is appealing this decision.
Labels: CFAs, detailed assessment
posted by Simon Gibbs at
7:35 AM
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