Paragon Costs Solutions

Firm Overview:

Paragon Costs has developed a reputation for dealing with high-value and complex commercial and international disputes. This built on its historic reputation for dealing with high value and complex PI and Clinical Negligence work.

Their clients include many of the the top 200 law firms. The firm also work with regional heavyweights and niche specialists. Paragon has been instructed by many local authorities, insurers and two international banks. The firm also have a long-stand relationship with a large insurer undertaking audits of the work undertaken by panel legal firms. Paragon receives instructions from law firms outside of the UK including Israel, Romania and Jersey.

The firm's client base is predominantly in London and the South West, albeit many of their clients are nationwide.

The firm's services focus around Costs Management and Detailed Assessment. Clients instruct the firm because they have a wealth of experience and they provide a full suite of services, to include advocacy. The firm are regularly instructed to advocate at CMCs and Detailed Assessments. Paragon Costs Solutions are complemented for being thorough, persuasive and approachable.

Recent work includes:

• We continue to act for the State of Romania in the matter of Micula and others v Romania. Nicholas Lee was lead advocate in the Supreme Court over 4 days in May 2024. He went on to conduct a further 15 days of Advocacy for Romania in the High Court. These proceedings are ongoing.

• We have received multiple instructions to act for Residual Beneficiaries in pursuing assessments of costs pursuant to S71(3) of the Solicitors Act 1974 following the decision in Kenig v Thomson Snell & Passmore LLP [2024] EWCA Civ 15. This is an emerging area of law with very little precedent. In one case the costs in question are over £3m and relate to the administration of an estate belonging to a well-known publisher, poet, entrepreneur and philanthropist.

• We have issued multiple cases to seek a determination under the new CPR 45.64. This is unchartered territory with no reported law or precedent.

• We prepared a £3.6m costs budget in relation to a multi-million pound claim concerning a fire at a hotel which caused it to collapse and damage neighbouring properties.

• In March 2024 we conducted a 3-day hearing in the SCCO following the preliminary judgment in Cooke and others v Woodchurch House Limited [2023] EWHC 3318 (SCCO). This matter concerned a claim for costs arising out of a civil claim following the tragic death of an individual in a care home.

• We were instructed by two of eight Respondents to deal with Costs Management is a multi-million pound unfair prejudice petition. We dealt with the preparation of the budgets and represented the Respondents at the CCMC in the High Court.

• We were instructed by a University to deal with Costs Management in relation to a complex boundary dispute. The combined value of the costs budgets was almost £1m. Paragon represented the Defendant at the CCMC in May 2024.

• We have been instructed to deal with costs arising from a fatal accident which occurred at an airport (but not involving an aircraft). This was a claim pleaded at over £2m. We are dealing with detailed assessment proceedings in which the costs claimed are over £400,000.

Examples of the firm's historic high-profile work where they have been instructed to deal with the costs issues include:

·Micula & Ors v Romania [2020] UKSC 5 (19 February 2020).

·Cardiff City Football Club Ltd v Michael Isaac (unreported) 2020.

·Chudley & Ors v Clydesdale Bank Plc (t/a Yorkshire Bank) [2019] EWCA Civ 344 (06 March 2019) #

·Takhar v Gracefield Developments Ltd & Ors [2019] UKSC 13 (20 March 2019)

·Icescape Ltd v Ice-World International BV & Ors [2018] EWCA Civ 2219 (10 October 2018)

· Matchmove Ltd v Dowding & Anor [2016] EWCA Civ 1233 (07 December 2016)

·Roberts v Swangrove Estates Ltd & Anor [2007] EWHC 513 (Ch) (14 March 2007).

·Bocacina Ltd v Boca Cafes Ltd & Ors [2014] EWHC 26 (IPEC) (20 December 2013)

·Stadium Capital Holdings (No.2) Ltd v St Marylebone Property Company & Anor [2011] EWHC 2856 (Ch) (08 November 2011)

The firm are instructed to deal with costs arising from professional negligence, shareholder disputes, intellectual property disputes, subrogated and property damage claims, boundary disputes, landlord and tenant disputes, planning disputes, construction disputes, consumer claims and mis-selling, fraud and general contractual disputes. The firm continue to deal with a small amount of high-value PI and Clinical Negligence.

In any given year the firm would conduct approximately 10 detailed assessments, 25 CCMCs and around 30 Provisional Assessments. They have over 80 active clients and received over 400 instructions in the last year.

Paragon Costs Solutions also work with a number of specialist firms dealing with Deputyship matters and they submit around 100 bills each year to the SCCO for assessment. The firm have a small team dedicated to this specialist work.