A statement of costs is a document that parties to commercial litigation must serve on the court to set out a breakdown of their legal costs, enabling the court to carry out a summary assessment under the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). In England and Wales, the relevant practice direction is CPR PD 44, which governs summary assessment procedure and the use of Form N260. The court uses the statement to decide what costs order to make at the end of proceedings, including whether to award recoverable costs against the losing party. This article will explain statements of costs and how you can complete and submit one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A statement of costs is a document that all parties to commercial litigation<\/a> must serve on the court to break down the costs of their legal proceedings. This statement is important because it enables the court to make a summary assessment of costs at the end of your matter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore, if you intend to claim your legal expenses from going to court<\/a>, serving the statement of costs is essential. Importantly, you must do so at least 24 hours before the court hearing is due to take place.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n Summary assessment is not used in every case. Courts carry out a summary assessment at the end of hearings that last less than one day. This includes most interim applications and short trials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For longer or more complex proceedings, the court will usually order a detailed assessment instead. Detailed assessment is a separate process where a costs judge examines the costs in full after the main proceedings have concluded. In detailed assessment, parties do not use a statement of costs. Instead, the receiving party must serve a bill of costs, which is a more detailed document that CPR Part 47 governs under a different procedure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you are unsure which process applies to your hearing, check the court’s directions or ask your solicitor. Serving a statement of costs when the court has ordered detailed assessment, or failing to serve one when summary assessment applies, can affect your ability to recover costs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n Continue reading this article below the form\n <\/i>\n<\/a>\nWhen Does Summary Assessment Apply?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n