Sadi Mustafa Karabay v Malcolm Carr t/as Forshaws Neill Solicitors (No 2)

In the Federal Circuit Court, Karabay, the plaintiff, sued Carr, the defendant, for professional negligence. The plaintiff had previously been successful in his claim against Carr, who had acted as a solicitor for him in an earlier legal matter. The court was required to determine whether the defendant's offer of compromise complied with the relevant rules of court. Specifically, the court had to consider whether the defendant's offer of a specified sum of damages "plus costs" complied with UCPR rule 20.26.

The court found that the defendant's offer of compromise did not comply with UCPR rule 20.26 as it did not specify the basis upon which the costs were to be assessed. The court held that the defendant's offer was invalid as it did not provide sufficient information for the plaintiff to assess the offer properly. The court also found that the plaintiff's costs were reasonable and necessary, and that the plaintiff was entitled to recover them from the defendant.

The court ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff's costs of the proceeding in the amount of $15,000, together with interest at the rate of 7% per annum from the date of the judgment until the date of payment. The court also ordered that the defendant's offer of compromise be disregarded as it did not comply with UCPR rule 20.26. The court did not make any orders as to the defendant's liability for the plaintiff's costs in the earlier proceeding.