On detailed assessment the Master directed that the ‘non phase’ costs budgeting and costs management costs that fell within the assumptions of the CMC phase in the Precedent H should be treated as being part of the CMC phase of the bill of costs and thus subject to that budget. All other costs budgeting and costs management costs should remain subject to the 1% and 2% cap. The result of transferring some of the costs budgeting and costs management costs to the CMC phase was that that phase then exceeded the costs budget.
The Master recommended that the Rule Committee look to revise the guidance for preparing the Precedent H so that it is now consistent with what is now the approach after Master Gordon-Saker’s decision in BP.
For many years our costs lawyers have been preparing Precedent H costs budgets showing the costs budgeting and costs management costs separately, capped at 1% and 2% and thus avoiding the conflict that occurred in this case between the costs budget and how the bill of costs was drafted.
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