Description
A defendant who applied for summary judgment when he knew, or ought to have known, that his application was not justified was ordered to pay the costs of the application on the indemnity basis.
The Claimant (C) issued proceedings against the Defendant (D), claiming outstanding fees and fees under a contingency fee agreement. Instead of serving a defence, D served an application for summary judgment in respect of the contingency fee claim on the basis that the agreement was unenforceable under Anguillan law. Despite C immediately (and correctly) pointing out that the evidence served by D did not support his argument, it was only some weeks later that the application was abandoned.
Coulson J held that C was entitled to its costs of the application on the indemnity basis. D had not served a defence and had given no explanation for instead issuing the application for summary judgment. It was reasonable to infer that it had been a delaying tactic. Further, D should have known that the application was hopeless.
