News

Solicitors' firm loses all of its costs
8 February 2011

Last year, the former client had successfully argued before Master O'Hare that the solicitors should not recover any costs. On 7 February 2011 Cranston J. dismissed an appeal by the solicitors against the Master's decision. The solicitors' terms and conditions provided that their bills were payable on presentation unless there was a "reasonable justification" for not paying. The solicitors' first bill exceeded their estimate by more than 20%. The client refused to pay the whole of the bill relying on the estimate. The solicitors 'downed tools' and refused to comply with the client's instructions. After some sharp e-mails exchanges there was a parting of the ways. A second bill was sent to the client in respect of the intervening work. Cranston J. agreed with the Master that (1) the solicitors were not entitled to 'down tools' because the client had a reasonable justification for not paying the first bill; (2) by 'downing tools' the solicitors were in repudiatory breach; (3) the client had accepted that repudiatory breach; and, (4) since the solicitors' retainer was entire contract, and since the solicitors had not completed the work they were retained to do, nothing was due from the client under either bill: Minkin v CKFT [2011] EWHC 177 (QB).