DBAs
Contingent and third-party funding on the up at Rosenblatt
City firm Rosenblatt is ramping up its use of contingent funding agreements, while its litigation finance arm has now invested in nine cases, the listed business’s half-year results have shown.
High Court upholds lawyer’s entitlement to costs on DBA termination
A damages-based agreement was not unenforceable because it obliged the client to pay incurred costs and expenses when she exercised her contractual right of termination, the High Court has ruled.
DBA demand “on rise” as City firm secures portfolio cover
Clients previously willing to pay lawyers by the hour are now looking at damages-based agreements in light of the coronavirus crisis, a leading City law firm has claimed.
High Court orders disclosure of DBA and funding
The High Court has ordered the claimants in a major group action to disclose details of both the damages-based agreement and third-party funding arrangements they have entered into.
Boutique firm acting on DBA for ‘mortgage prisoners’
Boutique litigation law firm Harcus Parker has begun legal proceedings on behalf of so-called ‘mortgage prisoners’ who say they have been trapped paying more on their mortgages than they should have.
Official worried that lawyers might “abuse” reformed DBAs
The government needs to be sure that allowing hybrid damages-based agreements will not encourage abuse by lawyers, such as speculative litigation, the lead civil servant has warned.
Review lays ground for both hybrid and defendant DBAs
Changes to the damages-based agreement (DBA) regulations, including opening them up to defendants and allowing hybrid DBAs, have been put forward by an independent review.
APIL and Law Society push for extended QOCS and reformed DBAs
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers has called for qualified one-way costs shifting to be extended beyond personal injury and the cap on damages-based agreements to be doubled to 50% for fast-track cases with fixed costs.
Jackson urges Ministry of Justice to abandon DBA caution
Sir Rupert Jackson last week told justice minister Lucy Frazer that the government was wrong to tread with caution over reforming the regime for damages-based agreements (DBAs). He said there was “no possible reason” why hybrid DBAs were not allowed when hybrid conditional fee agreements were.
“Not unreasonable” for solicitors to switch from DBA to CFA shortly before trial
Claimants did not act unreasonably in switching funding from a damages-based agreement to a conditional fee agreement shortly before trial, even though the defendants are now facing a much larger bill, a costs judge has ruled.
Blog
Group claims: Post-pandemic predictions
Group litigation has undeniably been a growth area in England over the last five years – a trend which is likely to increase rather than decrease as a result of the pandemic.
