Free Traffic Legal Advice

Hi ,

I was allowed a face-to-face court hearing date for the costs schedule-unreasonable conduct CPR 27.14(2)(g). It's meant to be a 15-minute hearing for the Application for Costs Hearing.  The key points are:

PCN cancelled: 01/10/2025
The claimant was informed of the cancellation
The claim continued despite no cause of action
Mediation took place unnecessarily
The claimant indicated they would not proceed but refused to discontinue at that stage
Claim only discontinued later (N279 filed)-just before the court hearing

I'd be very grateful for some practical advice
Thank you all in advance.

The unreasonable behaviour appears to be that the solicitors did not discontinue when told to by their client.

Bear in mind that the OP's "opponent" in respect of the relevant claim is the claimant, not their solicitors. The solicitors are acting on behalf of their client. I wouldn't separate the claimant and their solicitors, any incompetence on the part of DCB Legal is the claimant's problem.

The facts appear as the OP set out:

• After filing a claim, the claimant indicated that the charge had been cancelled
• Despite confirming this with the defendant, they did not discontinue the claim
• As a result of this, the defendant was forced to attend a mediation call, wasting the time of both the defendant and the mediator, at cost to the defendant (and the public purse)
• At the mediation call, the claimant's rep indicated that the claimant had indeed cancelled the charge, but still refused to discontinue the claim (for which there was now no apparent cause of action)
• Some three months later they finally discontinue, during which time the defendant has had the weight of a pending court claim hanging over them.