02 June 2023
For several years now, the litigation scales of expenses in Scotland for the calculation of costs in the Scottish courts have been based on a number of “units” per litigation task. Since the introduction of these scales, the unit has been valued at £16.40.
The Scottish Government has now published the Act of Sederunt (Fees of Solicitors in the Court of Session, Sheriff Appeal Court and Sheriff Court) (Taxation of Judicial Expenses Rules) (Amendment) 2023, which comes into force on 30 June and increases the value of the unit for work done after that date to £18, an uplift of nearly 10%.
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Insurers and other organisations that are exposed to paying costs in the Scottish jurisdiction should anticipate this increase in their future costs settlements and will require to ensure they are properly reserved for cases settling after 30 June 2023.
This change highlights the importance of careful management of Scottish litigation to minimise the opportunity for costs to be built and that specialists who know the Scottish jurisdiction should be involved at an early stage to direct early resolution and mitigate cost leakage.
BTO offers robust Scottish litigation skills and costs negotiation expertise.
Stephen Bryceland heads up BTO’s Personal Injury team and is a member of the Forum of Insurance Lawyers’ Scottish Sector Focus Team on expenses.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Stephen:
Stephen Bryceland, Partner sbr@bto.co.uk / 0141 221 8012