Supreme Court Costs Office
Date: 19/01/05

The Issues: The CFA Regulations (subsequently abolished in full in November 2005) required the Claimant’s solicitor to make enquiries (amongst other things) as to the existence of “Before The Event “BTE” insurance. Costs were disallowed at detailed assessment on the basis that proper BTE enquiries had not been carried out before a CFA had been entered into. The claims management company who had referred the Claimant to his solicitors had made enquiries and were told the Claimant did not have BTE under his car insurance and this was confirmed by his insurance brokers, but no one asked about household insurance or asked to see his motor or household policies. The Claimant had made a modest claim for personal injuries following an RTA and had purchased an ATE policy, costing £798.