The general rule is costs cannot be recovered in the small claims court. But there are exceptions for unreasonable behaviour. Our team is here to help.
The general rule is costs cannot be recovered in the small claims court.
The county court does have a general discretion in relation to costs and can make any costs order it feels is appropriate taking into account the value of the claim, the successful party and the conduct and behaviour of the parties during the course of the litigation.
Small claims track / cases – claims below £10,000 in value
The general rule in small claims track cases is that no costs may be awarded against the losing party, except for the fixed costs which the successful party has had to pay for issuing the claim and other court fees.
The successful party may also be able to claim the following:
- his/her reasonable loss of earnings/costs of staying away from home for himself/herself and for each of his/her witnesses, up to a maximum of £95.00 per person, per day; and
- expert’s fees up to a maximum of £750.00 per expert.
If the court however believes that one of the party’s has behaved unreasonably, then that party may be ordered to pay the other party’s legal costs. However, this is unusual.
Francis Wilks & Jones is among the country’s leading firm of county court solicitors. If you need any assistance, please do get in touch with one of our friendly team.
