Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust v Acres [2013] EWHC 652 (QB)

Case No QB/2012/0192Case No QB/2012/0508[2013] EWHC 652 (QB)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
Venue Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London, WC2A 2LLDate 22/03/2013
Before
MR JUSTICE CRANSTON(sitting with assessors Master Simons and Peter Todd, Solicitor)
Between
Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation TrustAppellantMargaret AcresDefendant/
Mr Vikram Sachdeva (instructed by Brownejacobson LLP) for AppellantMr John Foy QC (instructed by Howard Kennedy Fsi LLP) for Defendant/Cross AppellantHearing Hearing dates: 12 March 2013
Judgment

Introduction

[1]This appeal concerns the narrow, but important issues of(1) whether it is reasonable for a claimant to instruct central London solicitors to progress a claim; and(2) the hourly rates to be allowed to those solicitors for their costs of the action.

Background

[2]The respondent to this appeal, Mrs Margaret Acres, was employed as a senior radiographer at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital NHS Trust (“the Trust”). She practised in the nuclear medicine department and her duties included scanning, radiopharmacy and date processing. The nuclear medicine department included two scanning rooms in addition to a radiopharmacy unit. Radiopharmaceuticals for patients’ injections were manufactured daily under sterile conditions within two isolators. As part of her duties Mrs Acres was required to push her arms through portholes into gauntlets and then into rubber gloves to manufacture the radiopharmaceuticals. To do this she needed to keep her shoulders in a fixed position but to twist her arms right and left and to remove hatch covers under negative pressure. The aim of the operation was to draw a saline solution through a column of material originally containing radioactive molybdenum, some of which had decayed to form an oxide of technetium which was easily leached into solution. Having prepared the solution it was transferred to a vial or syringe where it was combined with a delivery chemical. The vial or syringe was labelled and passed to the relevant department for almost immediate use. Although the radiographers worked to a rota, Mrs Acres spent an increased proportion of her time working within the isolators. The upshot was that over time she developed repetitive strain injury. Eventually she was medically retired.[3]Mrs Acres was a member of the Society of Radiographers. This is a relatively small professional association with members across the country. The Society assists members who incur personal injury through their work. The Society regards the employer’s liability claims it supports on behalf of members as almost invariably complex involving either exposure to chemical fumes, claims arising from manual handling, or work related upper limb disorder claims. In the Society’s opinion handling these claims requires a knowledge of the working pattern of radiographers and an understanding of the equipment involved. With that in mind the Society has for over twenty years referred all its personal injury work to the firm of Howard Kennedy (previously Douglas Mann & Co prior to a merger). Howard Kennedy has successfully litigated a limited number of cases brought by Society members each year. The Society has preferred to instruct Howard Kennedy to act for its members on a fee paying basis, rather than to instruct lawyers under a collective conditional fee agreement. In setting out this practice in a letter of April 2009, the Society said that it trusted Howard Kennedy not to make rash or impracticable judgments which might involve it in lost claims, which could carry a significant liability in costs. Were local firms to be instructed, it would require them to act on a conditional fee basis so as to limit the Society’s exposure to costs in the case of a member’s claim not succeeding. The Society recognised that solicitors instructed on a conditional fee basis would be entitled to the hundred percent success fee. “However, such is our confidence in Howard Kennedy that we are happy to risk paying them in order to permit them to investigate fully all claims referred to them.”[4]In Mrs Acres’ case, however, the Society advised her to consult the branch of the well known law firm of Thompsons in Plymouth. It now appears that Thompsons had undertaken work for the Society on a different matter and the referral of this personal injury claim was the quid pro quo. Thompsons investigated the potential claim which Mrs Acres had against her employer, the Trust. Thompsons sent a letter of claim to them. That letter suggests that they thought, mistakenly, that they were working under a conditional fee agreement. On 9 September 2009 Thompsons wrote to Mrs Acres that they had been unable to persuade the Trust’s insurers to settle the claim, which meant that legal proceedings were the only avenue for taking the claim further. Having considered the documents Thompsons had concluded that they did not believe that there was any reasonable prospects of establishing legal liability in her case and that they could not advise her to pursue the matter further. Nonetheless, if Mrs Acres wished to pursue the claim, she would be advised to contact another solicitor on a private basis immediately, given the limitation period.[5]Thompsons having declined to take Mrs Acres’ case further, the Society agreed to fund a second opinion but insisted that Mrs Acres should consult Howard Kennedy in London. This Mrs Acres did in November 2009. Howard Kennedy notified the Trust in December 2009 that the claim would be pursued. Howard Kennedy obtained a report from a consultant orthopaedic surgeon which in the ordinary way was disclosed to the Trust. Proceedings were issued on 21 May 2010 when no acknowledgment or response was received from the Trust. To obtain instructions from Mrs Acres a partner of Howard Kennedy, Elizabeth Smith, travelled to the West Country to meet her.[6]The Trust served a defence denying liability, along with a Part 18 request under the Civil Procedure Rules to obtain further information. The matter was allocated to the multi-track, and as a result of a case management hearing among the reports the parties obtained were those from ergonomic experts. In September 2011 the Trust made a Part 36 offer of £5,000; Howard Kennedy had assessed the value of the claim at some £140,000. However, following a conference between Mrs Acres, her solicitor, Ms Smith, and her counsel, Paul Russell (now Paul Russell QC), and a medical expert, it became apparent that Mrs Acres was fragile and medically unfit to litigate the case. Following lengthy discussion and advice, Mrs Acres decided to accept £8,000 in settlement of her claim, notwithstanding what she had been advised was its true value.

Costs and the Master’s ruling

[7]There was then the issue of costs, as to which there was a dispute between the parties’ legal representatives on a number of matters. The point of dispute relevant to this appeal concerned the choice of solicitor. The Trust objected to the use of Howard Kennedy, as a central London firm, and of Mrs Smith. For a number of reasons, including that Mrs Acres lived in Devon and that the claim was not in their view all that complicated, the Trust contended that it would have been reasonable to instruct local solicitors who had reasonable expertise in claims for repetitive strain injury. By contrast Mrs Acres’ solicitors, Howard Kennedy, took the view that it was an extremely complicated case, the first ever raised on behalf of a nuclear radiographer, albeit that later there were other cases concluded or in which liability was admitted. Howard Kennedy contended that it was reasonable, “given the expertise required and the knowledge of nuclear radiography which would not be in the remit of a local solicitor to instruct an experience practitioner in Central London.” Mrs Acres’ bill of costs totalled £79, 203.07.[8]The matter came before the costs judge, Master O’Hare, in early March 2012. The first issue considered by the Master was the submission of Mr Sachdeva, counsel for the Trust, that there was no retainer at all. The Master roundly rejected that. The hearing then turned to the issue of proportionality and hourly rates. In relation to proportionality the obvious issue was, if all that had been obtained by Mrs Acres was £8,000, how was it proportionate to spend thousands pursuing the claim. One point Mr Sachdeva focused on was Thompsons’ advice that the claim ought not to be pursued, supporting his contention that Mrs Acres would not succeed at trial. Ms Smith from Howard Kennedy explained the distress which Mrs Acres exhibited at the conference with counsel and her consequent decision to settle.[9]In Ms Smith’s submission Thompsons did not persist with the claim because they did not investigate it properly, having never undertaken a claim of this nature for the Society. Although she normally undertook Society work, in this case Thompsons had been instructed because of Mrs Acres’ hearing impairment (later found to be minor) and because Thompsons were local. In the course of argument Mrs Smith conceded that she was not privy to Thompsons’ thoughts and it might be that Thompsons turned the matter down because they were not instructed under a conditional fee agreement, but her view was that it was their lack of knowledge in relation to this type of claim. Master O’Hare then ruled that the costs, although large, were not disproportionate in the circumstances of the case. In reaching that conclusion, however, he said that he did not accept Mrs Smith’s explanation regarding Thompsons. “It seems to me that Thompsons gave up because they were not allowed to run it on a [conditional fee agreement]. I do not think that there is evidence that Thompsons were acting incompetently or were inexperienced or that there is evidence that greater experience was needed to realise this was a strong case.”[10]The hearing then turned to hourly rates. Mr Sachdeva submitted that there were two issues, “the area in which it was reasonable to instruct solicitors and the grade of fee earner”. In his submission Exeter grade B was the appropriate rate and the issue was whether it was reasonable to instruct Howard Kennedy in central London. Thompsons in Exeter could have pursued the claim on Mrs Acres’ behalf if they had thought it had merit. Although Mrs Smith had acted on behalf of the Society in other comparable claims, in his submission there were other solicitors who could have advanced the claim, including Thompsons in Exeter. All the factors tied the case to the south west of England and it was not reasonable to instruct central London solicitors when it would have been perfectly possible to litigate it locally had a different view of the merits been taken. In the course of his submissions Mr Sachdeva referred, inter alia, to Wraith v Sheffield Forge Masters [1998] 1 WLR 132 and Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust v Menagh (SCCO, 27 August 2009). The Master rejected Mr Sachdeva’s submission on grade. Given that he accepted that the claim could sensibly have been advanced for a six figure amount, he ruled that the appropriate grade was Grade A, without calling on Ms Smith in reply.[11]That left the issue of location. The Master said:
“[W]hat I do want to know is why London Rates? I know your funder, that is the Society, want to appoint just one solicitor to do all their cases, but why are they not local rates for local cases?”
Ms Smith’s reply was that the case required understanding and expertise. Mrs Acres’ witness statement went into immense detail as to the ergonomic movements which she had to undertake in her work as a radiographer. Experienced in this area, Ms Smith submitted that she was able to extract information from Mrs Acres relevant to the claim. She instructed specialist counsel, Paul Russell, but he was still reliant on her. Unless the solicitor knew what members of the Society did in their work, it was not possible to ask a claimant the right questions to progress a claim. Ms Smith referred to various legal authorities.[12]The Master then ruled that, although he accepted that the case was a six figure claim and merited a grade A fee earner, on balance he did not think that it warranted a grade A fee earner in central London. He acknowledged that other costs judges had taken a different view but one of the factors which had persuaded them to allow central London rates was the absence of a success fee. That was one of the reasons why Thompsons turned down Mrs Acres’ case; they did not want to act without one. Mrs Acres’ case was not one which needed to be handled by a central London firm. In fact firms outside London could have conducted it, and in fact it was referred by the trade union to one such firm. An important factor in the case for fixing local rates was that it was a trade union reference. Unions knew, with more experience than other clients, that different solicitors in different parts of the country charged different rates. To the extent that the case was out of the ordinary it could be addressed by up-rating the hourly rate, rather than by altering the locality. The Master then said:
“[16] … That is what I propose to do here. I am going to look for other comparable firms outside central London which could deal with it. In that I look at band 1 rates, particularly for Bristol with lots of firms with lots of experience. I ought to take into account the particular expertise a solicitor brings to a particular case … I have done that by taking as my starting point grade A for band 1. I took it at £215 and have applied a multiplier to it. I think the multiplier should be 30 percent. That gives me a figure of £280, and I think that is the rate I ought to come to. [17] I think it is wrong to assume that all these cases have to come to London because they can only be dealt with by Howard Kennedy. I do not think that is appropriate. I think it is right to assume that for provincial cases Howard Kennedy should be expected to recover provincial rates, but they are entitled to an uplift on these rates.”
[13]The Master refused the Trust’s application for permission to appeal in relation to the hourly rates. However, he ordered that if a High Court judge should grant permission to appeal the claimant would be granted permission to appeal by way of a cross-appeal.[14]The Trust applied for permission to appeal on the basis that the Master erred in(1) holding that the bill was not disproportionate and(2) in allowing hourly rates of £280, having accepted that there was no client care letter setting out the rates which the claimant would be liable for and also having found that Thompsons in Exeter were competent to conduct the claim.[15]On 25 June 2012 Sir Raymond Jack refused permission to appeal. He rejected the proportionality ground on the basis that the case was valued at around £100,000 but had not been pursued because Mrs Acres could not see it through because of her psychological condition. As to the hourly rates, Sir Raymond said this:
“The Master took Bristol rates because he considered that Bristol was a city with appropriate legal expertise. He did not take it because he forgot that Thompsons were in Exeter.”
[16]The application for permission was then renewed before Eder J. He refused permission on the first ground of proportionality and the matter has not been pursued further. However, he gave permission on the second ground (what he described as “the hourly rates/uplift ground”). He also gave permission to cross appeal. In the result a cross-appeal was filed to the effect that the Master erred in allowing hourly rates of £280 having failed to(1) accept that Thompsons in Plymouth had turned down the claim and(2) consider whether, in the light of Thompsons’ repudiation of the claimant’s case, it was reasonable for her to have instructed her Union’s regular panel solicitors, in other words, Howard Kennedy.

Legal principles

[17]Both the appeal and the cross appeal essentially relate to the same issue, the hourly rate Master O’Hare allowed to the claimant’s solicitors for the costs of the action. There is a particular aspect of that, whether it was reasonable for Mrs Acres to instruct central London solicitors, Howard Kennedy. There are two sets of legal principles relevant to the issues in this appeal. The first concerns the nature of the appeal; the second, the test to be applied in deciding it.[18]As with other appeals this is a review of the decision below, rather than a re-hearing of the case. To allow the appeal the court must be persuaded that the decision of the Master was either wrong or unjust because of a serious procedural or other irregularity in the proceedings. The Master must have exceeded the generous ambit within which reasonable disagreement is possible: G v G (Minors: Custody Appeal) [1985] 1 WLR 647, 652 E. Moreover, under CPR 52.11(2) an appeal court will not generally receive evidence which was not before the lower court. Within the terms of the Overriding Object of the CPR the criteria set out in Ladd v Marshall [1954] 3 All ER 745 must be met for this to occur. In this case the appellant sought to adduce evidence of solicitors capable of undertaking work-related illness cases and general personal injury work located in south-west England. That evidence was not admitted since it was available at the time the matter was before the Master.[19]The leading case on the test to be applied in this type of case is contained in the Court of Appeal decision of Wraith v Sheffield Forgemasters Ltd [1998] 1 WLR 132. There the court considered two appeals. The first concerned Mr Truscott, who lived in Tunbridge Wells and instructed local solicitors in county court proceedings regarding a maintenance payment order involving his ex-wife. Dissatisfied with his local solicitors he instructed a small firm of solicitors in central London. On an appeal from the district judge, the county court judge held that Mr Truscott should not have used London solicitors. The Court of Appeal upheld the further appeal. Kennedy LJ (with whom Waite and Auld LJJ agreed) held that the county court judge had simply compared local and London rates, whereas he should have asked whether it was reasonable for Mr Truscott to instruct London solicitors, taking into account relevant considerations. Relevant factors when considering the reasonableness of Mr. Truscott's decision were(1) the importance of the matter to him(2) the legal and factual complexities, in so far as he might reasonably be expected to understand them(3) the location of his home, his place of work and the location of the court in which the relevant proceedings had been commenced(4) Mr Truscott's possibly well-founded dissatisfaction with the solicitors he had originally instructed, which may well have resulted in a natural desire to instruct solicitors further afield(5) the fact that he had sought advice as to whom to consult and had been recommended the London solicitors(6) their location including their accessibility to him, and their readiness to attend at the relevant court and(7) what, if anything, he might reasonably be expected to know of the fees they would likely charge, as compared with the fees of other solicitors whom he might reasonably be expected to have considered: at 141 D-F. If the county court judge had considered these matters Kennedy LJ held that he would obviously have concluded that it was reasonable to instruct the London solicitors.[20]The second appeal arose out of an industrial accident in Sheffield, where Mr Wraith’s trade union suggested he instruct London solicitors, who usually handled its members’ personal injury cases. Proceedings were commenced in London but transferred by consent to Sheffield and successfully completed. Potter J., sitting with assessors, upheld the decision of the deputy district judge to allow the London rates claimed. As regards the question ‘Were the costs reasonably incurred?’, Potter LJ said that it was open to a paying party to object that the employment of a London solicitor was an unsuitable or ‘luxury’ choice and made on grounds which would not be taken into account by an ordinary, reasonable litigant concerned to obtain competent representation. Potter J continued ([1996] 1 WLR 617, 624–625):
“[I]n deciding whether such an objection is sustainable in practice, the focus is primarily upon the reasonable interests of the plaintiff in the litigation so that, in relation to broad categories of costs, such as those generated by the decision of a plaintiff to employ a particular status or type of solicitor or counsel, or one located in a particular area, one looks to see whether, having regard to the extent and importance of the litigation to a reasonably minded plaintiff, a reasonable choice or decision has been made. If satisfied that the choice or decision was reasonable, it is the second question ‘what is a reasonable amount to be allowed?’ which imports consideration of the appropriate rate or fee for a solicitor or counsel of the status and type retained. If not satisfied that the choice or decision was reasonable, then the question of ‘reasonable amount’ will fall to be assessed on the notional basis of the costs reasonably to be allowed in respect of a solicitor or counsel of the status or type which should have been retained. In either case, solicitor's hourly rates will be assessed, not on the basis of the solicitor's actual charging rates, but (in a case where the decision to retain was reasonable) on the basis of the broad costs of litigation in the area of the solicitor retained or (in a case where the choice made was not reasonable) of the type or class of solicitor who ought to have been retained”
. Kennedy LJ agreed that Potter J had stated the right test but concluded that he had not applied it correctly. That Mr Wraith’s trade union had adopted the practice of sending all their work to central London solicitors was of limited relevance to the question whether the costs of doing that had been reasonably incurred; Potter J. had erred in regarding that factor as conclusive of the question: at 142F-143A.[21]The issue is thus the reasonableness of a party in instructing particular lawyers, in other words, a discretionary decision. Importantly, in Solutia UK Ltd v Griffiths [2001] EWCA Civ 736; [2002] PIQR P16, Latham LJ held that the approach the appeal court should apply in deciding whether the costs judge was correct in addressing this issue was whether the judge had taken into account all relevant considerations, not taken into account irrelevant considerations, and not reached an unreasonable decision on the facts: [16]; see also Sir Christopher Staughton at [23]; Mance LJ at [33]. Mance LJ added that the costs judge had focused excessively on the possibility that other more local solicitors could have been instructed and could have handled the matter competently. Although that was a relevant factor it was not one to be elevated to the ultimate test: [33]. Thus there was an objective element in determining the reasonableness or otherwise of instructing particular legal advisers, although the question was to be answered in the context of the particular circumstances of the particular litigants.[22]In Gazley v Wade and News Group Newspapers Ltd [2004] EWHC 2675 (QB); [2005] 1 Costs LR 129, Eady J underlined the point that a costs judge's assessment of reasonableness is to be made at the time the relevant decision is taken, rather than with the benefit of hindsight. In that case Eady J refused to interfere when the costs judge had held that Norwich rather than London rates should apply to the solicitors' work on a defamation matter. In Higgins v Ministry of Defence [2010] EWHC 654 (QB); [2010] 6 Costs LR 86 Tugendhat J reminded that while useful, the list which Kennedy LJ laid out in Truscott’s case was not of general application but depended on the circumstances: [24].

The appeal and cross-appeal

(a) Was it reasonable to instruct a London firm?

[23]The first issue is whether the Master was correct in rejecting Mrs Acres’ contention that it was reasonable to instruct Howard Kennedy after Thompsons advised that they could not take her case further. For the Trust Mr Sachdeva submitted that the Master was correct. It had not been reasonable for Mrs Acres to instruct Howard Kennedy in central London when there were many solicitors in south west England capable of undertaking it. There was nothing special about this type of employer liability claim against the NHS. Isolators of the type used by Mrs Acres were not confined to radiographers. Ergonomics was a technical area but the experts would address the relevant issues and there was no need for specialist knowledge on the part of the solicitor. Indeed the Particulars of Claim drafted by Howard Kennedy, without the input of an ergonomic expert, were unfocused which underlined the point. Counsel instructed in this case, Paul Russell was an expert in the area where a south west England solicitor could be as easily engaged as Howard Kennedy. As it was Mr Russell expended a considerable number of hours on the case.[24]Albeit that Thompsons had declined to take the case further, Mr Sachdeva submitted that there was no need for Mrs Acres or the Society to turn straightaway to Mrs Smith at Howard Kennedy when there were many competent personal injury solicitors in the provinces. Mr Sachdeva continued that the Master had made a factual finding that Thompsons had declined to pursue Mrs Acres’ case, not because they did not have the knowledge to progress it, but because there was no conditional fee agreement in place. The Master had the file before him and so was in a good position to make that finding. As regards the factors mentioned by Kennedy LJ in Wraith, Mr Sachdeva submitted that this was not an excessively complicated case and Mrs Acres was located in the South West. The Society had recommended Howard Kennedy, once Thompsons had declined to act further, but that, as Kennedy LJ had decided in Wraith itself, was not determinative. Critical was the seventh factor, that the Society, and hence Mrs Acres, knew that central London solicitors were fifty percent more expensive than local solicitors. The judge’s decision was not open to challenge.[25]On Mrs Acres’ behalf Mr Foy QC contended that the Master conflated the two issues he had to address, whether it was reasonable for Mrs Acres to instruct Howard Kennedy in London and what were reasonable hourly rates for the work undertaken. That the Society would only instruct local firms under a conditional fee agreement meant, that if a member lost the case, it would be more expensive than if Howard Kennedy were instructed. The factors identified by Kennedy LJ in Wraith pointed to the reasonableness of instructing Howard Kennedy and that the Master had erred in deciding otherwise. Going through those seven factors, Mr Foy QC pointed out the claim was of considerable importance to Mrs Acres since the case had a potential six figure value; there were the legal and factual complexities, in so far as she might reasonably be expected to understand them, reflected in the fact that the fixed uplift for a conditional fee agreement in such a case is always one hundred percent. Admittedly Mrs Acres lived in the south west England but Ms Smith was prepared to, and did, travel there to take instructions. Mrs Acres was dissatisfied with Thompsons who were originally instructed. Clearly they would not continue to act. So she had to seek help elsewhere and it was natural and reasonable for her to turn to her professional association’s usual and preferred solicitors; Mrs Acres had sought advice as to whom to consult and had been recommended Howard Kennedy, in whom the Society had confidence. The Society, and thus Mrs Acres, can be taken as knowing the fees charged by Howard Kennedy and that they clearly thought they were appropriate in this case, having regard to its history and complexity.[26]In my view any suggestion that the Master applied the wrong test fails in limine. This is a very experienced Master, who in the course of the argument before him demonstrated that he was well aware of Wraith and the other relevant authorities. Although in his ex tempore judgment he did not spell out the Wraith test, it is obvious that it was that test he was applying in deciding that, on balance, the case did not warrant a grade A fee earner in central London. Moreover, it is impossible to contend that the Master failed to take relevant considerations into account. Many of the factors Kennedy LJ considered in Wraith were mentioned by Mr Sachdeva and Ms Smith in the course of argument. As would be expected, given the nature of this type of hearing, the transcript reveals that there was a regular dialogue between the advocates and the Master as arguments were tested.[27]Where in my respectful opinion the Master erred was in relation to his consideration of the Thompsons’ decision to decline to take Mrs Acres’ case further. He attributed that decision to Thompsons’ refusal to act without a success fee under a conditional fee agreement. That in my judgment was not a relevant consideration which the Master could take into account. The assessment of whether it was reasonable to instruct a London firm is to be made in the light of the circumstances at the time the decision is made. In this case all that Mrs Acres and the Society had at the time the decision was made was Thompsons’ letter of 9 September 2009. That made clear that Thompsons believed the claim would not succeed on the merits. It was in the light of that assessment, from reputable solicitors, no doubt conscious of their potential liability in professional negligence, that the Society supported Mrs Acres’ obtaining a second opinion. But if Mrs Acres were to instruct other solicitors it would have to be Howard Kennedy, in whom the Society placed trust to make a realistic evaluation, on an ordinary retainer basis, not another local firm, which would require a conditional fee agreement. In failing to consider the reasonableness of the decision to instruct Howard Kennedy, in the light of Thompsons declining to act on the merits, the Master in my respectful opinion was in error. I accept the submissions made by Mr Foy QC as summarised in paragraph 25 and in my judgment it was reasonable for Mrs Acres to instruct Howard Kennedy. (b). What was the reasonable hourly rate?[28]In advancing the Trust’s appeal, Mr Sachdeva contended firstly, that there was a clear error of law in that the Master used Bristol rates as his starting point, when he had previously decided that Thompsons in Plymouth were competent to act. Thus the starting point on the Master’s own reasoning should have been Plymouth/Exeter rates. Secondly, Mr Sachdeva contended that the Master should never have ordered a 30 percent uplift on the Grade A fee earner’s fee. The case for an uplift had never been advanced by Mrs Acres. In any event there was nothing in the case which was significantly different from a typical Grade A fee earner’s case. There was no evidence that local solicitors would have insisted on such an uplift. An experienced senior junior, Paul Russell, advised at all relevant times and that undermined the case for an uplift.[29]In my view there was no error in the Master’s reference to Bristol rates for the reasons Sir Raymond Jack gave in refusing permission to appeal. All the Master did was to identify Bristol as a centre where many law firms, capable of undertaking this kind of work, had a base. As to the uplift, this was a matter within the Master’s discretion. He heard the evidence about the nature of the claim and was in a good position to assess its complexity. Ms Smith did not advance the case for an uplift since her case was that London rates ought to apply. There are no grounds for contending that the Master erred in law in this regard.

Conclusion

[30]Since the cross appeal succeeds, and since there has been no objection to Howard Kennedy’s rates if the decision to use them was reasonable, the upshot is that those are the rates which should apply in this case. It must be emphasised that the outcome in this case is no carte blanche for the instruction of central London solicitors in this type of case.[31]Finally, I sat with assessors for the purpose of the hearing. I am grateful to them for their assistance although the judgment is my responsibility alone.