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Rehill v Rider Holdings Ltd [2014] EWCA Civ 42 - 15/01/14

Description

Successful appeal against refusal to apply the costs consequences of Part 36 to a Claimant who refused to accept an offer that he subsequently failed to beat.

The Claimant ('C') claimed damages for personal injuries sustained when he was knocked down by a bus. Liability for the accident was apportioned equally between the parties. In April 2007, C refused D's £75,000 offer of settlement. The offer was repeated in November 2007 as a Part 36 offer. In June 2009, D made a further Part 36 offer of just under £40,000 which C refused. In April 2013, C accepted D's offer of £17,500.

The court below ordered D to pay C's costs up to the date of the offer in June 2009 and for C to pay D's costs thereafter. D appealed on the basis that the court below had been wrong to conclude that it was reasonable for C to refuse the April and November 2007 offers.

The court below had found that there was no significant uncertainty concerning C's orthopaedic injuries when the November 2007 offer was made. There was some uncertainty about other injuries, although they were of minimal financial significance. In light of those findings, the Court of Appeal considered that the court below had been wrong to find that C was entitled to reject the November 2007 offer. C was ordered to pay D's costs from 21 days after the date of the offer. When deciding whether the costs consequences of failing to beat a Part 36 offer should apply the court must assess whether it was reasonable to reject the offer and, by virtue of CPR r.36.14.(4)(c), regard must be had to the information that was available at the time.

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