Sukul-Lennard v Croydon Primary Care Trust [2003] EWCA Civ 1193

Case No A1/2002/2437[2003] EWCA Civ 1193
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF JUDICATURE
IN THE COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION)
ON APPEAL FROM AN EMPLOYMENT APPEAL TRIBUNAL
(His Honour Judge McMullen QC)
Venue Royal Courts of JusticeDate Tuesday, 22nd July 2003
Strand
London, WC2
B E F O R E:
LORD JUSTICE PETER GIBSON
LORD JUSTICE MANCE
LORD JUSTICE LONGMORE
Between
SUKUL-LENNARDAppellant-v-
Between
CROYDON PRIMARY CARE TRUSTRespondent
(Computer-Aided Transcript of the Palantype Notes ofSmith Bernal Wordwave Limited190 Fleet Street, London EC4A 2AGTel No: 020 7404 1400 Fax No: 020 7831 8838Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)
MR SUKUL (instructed by Mr Robert Solomon, London SW17 7TR) appeared for Appellant. for The Respondent did not appear and was unrepresented.Tuesday, 22nd July 2003C O S T S
J U D G M E N T

LORD JUSTICE PETER GIBSON:

[1]We are now asked to deal with the question of costs.[2]It was suggested by the respondent in correspondence that the appeal should be dealt with in the way in which this court has now held it should be dealt with. It was resisted on behalf of Mrs Sukul-Lennard and on that issue, which is a discrete issue, Mrs Sukul-Lennard has lost. True it is that the final outcome of the litigation is unknown, but where there is a discrete issue it is the almost invariable practice of this court to award costs to the successful party unless there are very special circumstances. None such has been suggested in this case.[3]Accordingly, we think it appropriate that we order Mrs Sukul-Lennard to pay the respondent's costs thrown away by her not accepting the invitation in the correspondence to deal with the matter as the respondent had suggested. But we will add a further direction that that order for costs should not be enforced until the end of the conclusion of the litigation.

Order

As above.