Carkeek v Aubrey F Crawley & Co

In the case of Carkeek v Aubrey F Crawley & Co, the plaintiff sought a review of a costs assessment decision made by a Uniform Law costs review panel. The defendant, Aubrey F Crawley & Co, was the law firm that had been ordered to pay costs to the plaintiff. The plaintiff appealed the costs assessment to the Supreme Court, but the appeal was delayed due to the plaintiff's failure to promptly institute it. Furthermore, a second plaintiff was later joined to the proceedings, raising questions about whether this second plaintiff had entered into a client-solicitor relationship with the plaintiff or was contractually bound as a third party payer and liable to pay costs. The court was required to determine whether the review panel had jurisdiction to assess the costs liability of the second plaintiff.

The central legal issue before the court was whether the review panel had the jurisdiction to assess the costs liability of the second plaintiff. The court needed to determine whether the second plaintiff had entered into a client-solicitor relationship with the original plaintiff or was a third party payer. This question of jurisdictional fact was critical, as it would determine whether the review panel had the authority to assess the costs liability of the second plaintiff. The court had to consider whether the second plaintiff's involvement in the proceedings was such that they had become a party to the litigation, thereby subjecting themselves to the jurisdiction of the review panel.

The court held that the question of whether the second plaintiff had entered into a client-solicitor relationship with the original plaintiff or was a third party payer was a jurisdictional fact for the review panel to determine. The court found that the second plaintiff's involvement in the proceedings was such that they had become a party to the litigation, thereby subjecting themselves to the jurisdiction of the review panel. The court further held that the review panel's decision to assess the costs liability of the second plaintiff was not an error of law, and therefore, the appeal against the costs assessment was dismissed. The court noted that the delay in instituting the appeal and the second plaintiff's late joining of the proceedings did not affect the jurisdiction of the review panel.

The final orders of the court were that the appeal against the costs assessment was dismissed, and the costs of the appeal were awarded to the defendant, Aubrey F Crawley & Co. The court found that the review panel's decision to assess the costs liability of the second plaintiff was not an error of law, and therefore, the appeal against the costs assessment was dismissed. The court also noted that the delay in instituting the appeal and the second plaintiff's late joining of the proceedings did not affect the jurisdiction of the review panel. The costs of the appeal were awarded to the defendant, and the original costs assessment decision was upheld.