Safety Net Security v Coppage

Lord Justice Rix: 1. After the dismissal of this appeal, we are asked to summarily assess the costs of the respondents, who will be ordered their costs. We do summarily assess costs. The appeal, though set down for a day-and-a-half, has taken just over half a day. The costs that we are asked to assess total £28,356 plus travelling expenses of £258, some £28,500. £3,000 of that represents a form of success fee on a partial CFA entered into by Mr Anderson QC. He tells us that his normal fee would be about £10,000, but that he was prepared to agree to a success fee if the appeal was dismissed, which it has been, of £13,500, and if he failed to obtain dismissal of the appeal, his fee would be £7,500. First, Mr Anderson asked us to deduct £3,000 from the schedule in front of us, on the basis that he was willing to forego that success, on the assumption that this court could not summarily assess a CFA or partial CFA. He was latterly instructed that that was not the case; we have not enquired into the matter ourselves. We have considered all the matters involved in this statement of costs, including the fact that some figures for attendances appear to us to be too high. We have, in effect, to apply a broad brush to these matters. We summarily assess the costs at £25,000. That is on the basis that Mr Anderson gets the majority of his arrangement, if not all of it. So appeal is dismissed, costs are awarded to the respondents. We have summarily assessed those costs at £25,000, and we would suggest that they be paid within 21 days. You will get our reasons in due course.