no win no fee

[r00fer123]

hi there

i have an on going claim for an accident i had on a building site in April 2009.

i have had several interim payments in the past. now my solicitor is asking me to sign a form for the next payment to be in their name, as they want to take out nearly

£700, to pay for our own orthopedic surgeons report, which was done in dec 2009.

am i wrong to believe that all medical reports, consultant fees, be paid by the third party.

[rebel11]

Hi r00

 

Welcome to CAG

 

The guys will be happy to advise as soon as they are available.

 

Thread moved to the correct forum.

[Conniff]

You really need to look at the terms of the no win no fee solicitor. A big clue there in the title 'win and you pay a fee' and they can be quite heavy.

[r00fer123]

i understand that bills will come in thick and fast once concluded.

but surly they cannot expect me to pay for medical reports from an interim payment.

would that be the third parties responsibility once claim has been settled, or come under solicitors fees

[Ganymede]

Why are you getting another medical report? Do you disagree with your original report from 2009?

 

All legals costs and disbursements should be recovered directly from the Defendant once the claim concludes so I wouldn't worry.

[r00fer123]

no we do not disagree, it is for the court proceedings, an up to date report, as i am still having medical treatment and physio at the hospital.

would it be legal for me to ask for payment in my name, then pay my solicitor a personal cheque and ask for a receipt. or should i let them have the payment in their name and deduct the money.

Edited November 10, 2011 by r00fer123

[Ganymede]

The solicitors are the ones taking the risk with the cost of the 1st report but for some reason they seem to be worried that the cost of the 2nd report won't be recoverable.

 

The solicitors may have to pay for the 2nd report upfront hence why they are asking you to fund it initially. Have you spoken to your solicitors about this?

 

Did the 1st report state that you would require a re-examination?

 

I would imagine that you will be reimbursed at the end of the claim for the report should it be deemed necessary to have obtained it.

 

The interim cheque will usually be in you name but banked in the solicitors client account before sending it on to you. This will be why they need you authority to deduct the cost of the report from the interim payment.

[Guest]

roofer

 

the 'standard' cfa 'clause' is:

'If you receive interim damages, we may require you to pay our disbursements at that point as well as a reasonable amount for our future disbursements.'

'disbursements' include experts fees.

as suggested, check your agreement. but, the above is likely.

Edited November 10, 2011 by Ford

[r00fer123]

thank you ford.

now you have made it easy to understand, and a lot of what you said sounds familiar.

the old grey matter must be struggling to go back to 2009.

thank you again, and all the others who answered my thread.

[Guest]

roofer

to add, this is another standard cfa provision which may help. and may also sound familiar:

'As with the costs in general, you remain ultimately responsible for paying our success fee.

You agree to pay into a designated account any cheque received by you or by us from your opponent and made payable to you. Out of the money, you agree to let us take the balance of the basic charges; success fee; insurance premium; our remaining disbursements; and VAT.

You take the rest.

We are allowed to keep any interest your opponent pays on the charges.'

[Ganymede]

Did you just Google "Conditional Fee Agreement example" and cut and paste from the first one that came up? lol.

[Guest]

nice try

but they're actually from the Law Society cfa doc that accompanies cfa agreements. did you not know that?

Edited November 17, 2011 by Ford
typo

[Ganymede]

nice try

but they're actually from the Law Society doc that accompanies all cfa agreements. did you not know that?

 

 

Haha I just assumed you had Googled.

 

They are the 'model' terms of a CFA but I stand by my point that the commercial reality of the situation is that a lot of the more scary sounding clauses, like the ones you quote, don't get included in most CFAs as the client wouldn't sign and it would go elsewhere. It all about competition between firms and who can offer the 'best' terms. Well that's the theory behind it anyway...

[Guest]

you mean you just googled as you described

 

they form part of the basics of a conforming cfa so are included. the LawSoc doc should be sent out/given to the client at the time.

if you can find a sol that that does not include those terms, then please post their details up!

why are they 'scary'?

Edited November 17, 2011 by Ford
typo

[Balinda]

The Law Society Conditional Fee Agreement model covers all that you need to know about what happens when you receive interim payment and the payment of disbursements. Ford is entirely right, you remain responsible for paying your solicitor's success fee.

[Ganymede]

you mean you just googled as you described

 

they form part of the basics of a conforming cfa so are included. the LawSoc doc should be sent out/given to the client at the time.

if you can find a sol that that does not include those terms, then please post their details up!

why are they 'scary'?

 

 

I know for a fact that "Out of the money, you agree to let us take the balance of the basic charges; success fee; insurance premium; our remaining disbursements; and VAT.

You take the rest." is not included in every CFA. As you wisely said in a previous post, check the individual agreement as they vary from firm to firm.

 

 

 

 

 

The Law Society Conditional Fee Agreement model covers all that you need to know about what happens when you receive interim payment and the payment of disbursements. Ford is entirely right, you remain responsible for paying your solicitor's success fee.

 

 

Not sure this has been in dispute has it? The debate is more if CFAs vary from firm to firm or are all "unifrom". The client is responsible but it will normally be recovered from the other side.

[Guest]

as you 'wisely' agreed, 'the client is responsible'.

sols ensure that they are covered should there be any shortfall for whatever reason. hence the standard basic 'terms' (however phrased). they don't work for free!

can you post up the eg firm and their equivalent cfa terms that you allude to?

[Ganymede]

The 'model' CFA states:

"'As with the costs in general, you remain ultimately responsible for paying our success fee.

 

You agree to pay into a designated account any cheque received by you or by us from your opponent and made payable to you. Out of the money, you agree to let us take the balance of the basic charges; success fee; insurance premium; our remaining disbursements; and VAT.

 

You take the rest.

 

We are allowed to keep any interest your opponent pays on the charges.'

 

 

I can't name the firm but an alternative to the paragraph above is...

"As with the costs in general, you remain ultimately responsible for paying our success fee. However normally this is paid by your opponent if you win your case.

You agree to pay into a designated account any cheque received by you or by us from your opponent and made payable to you.

We are allowed to keep any interest your opponent pays on the charges."

As I said, the wording of the CFA depends on the firm etc...

[Guest]

same thing either way, client is 'ultimately responsible' for 'costs in general....'. the lawsoc doc provides more transparency there.

the lawsoc cfa doc also says that costs eg basic charges, disbursements, success fee, ins premium can be claimed from the opponent if a win.

as i said, these basic standard 'terms' are included in a cfa.

Edited November 24, 2011 by Ford

[Balinda]

It appears we are all in agreement the Law Society CFA covers all you need to know about "No win No Fee" agreements. As far as I am aware, the Law Soc. CFA model is self-contained and there is little need to amend it unless of course you have examples of cases were it has been fundamentally altered or a solicitor has failed to provide all the accompanying information.