Free Traffic Legal Advice

Do you have a notice of discontinuation?

[Defendant’s Name] 
[Defendant’s Address] 
[City, Postcode] 
[Email Address] (if applicable) 
[Date] 

The Court Manager 
[Name of the Court] 
[Court Address] 

Re: Case No. [Claim Number] – Request for Costs Consideration under CPR 27.14(2)(g) 

Dear Sir/Madam, 

I write in relation to the above-referenced case, which I was defending. I have recently become aware that the claimant discontinued the claim on 11th February 2025, but they failed to notify me of this. I only discovered that the claim had been discontinued after contacting the court on 5th March 2025. 

It is my submission that the claimant’s failure to inform me of the discontinuance constitutes unreasonable behaviour under CPR 27.14(2)(g), as it caused unnecessary time, stress, and effort in continuing to deal with the matter. Had I not proactively contacted the court, I would have remained unaware of the discontinuance. 

In light of this, I respectfully request that the court considers awarding costs against the claimant. A breakdown of my costs is as follows: 

Description: Time spent dealing with the case after discontinuance (research, drafting letters, contacting the court) 
Hours: X 
Rate: £19 per hour 
Total: £XX.XX 

Description: Printing and postage costs 
Total: £XX.XX 

Description: Other reasonable costs (if applicable) 
Total: £XX.XX 

Total Costs Sought: £XX.XX

Given the claimant's unreasonable conduct in failing to notify me, I request that the court considers making an order for my costs on the papers. I would be grateful if the court could confirm whether this matter can be considered administratively or if further steps are required. 

Yours faithfully, 

[Defendant’s Name] 

Send the following to the court manager:

Quote

[Defendant’s Name] 
[Defendant’s Address] 
[City, Postcode] 
[Email Address] (if applicable) 
[Date] 

The Court Manager 
[Name of the Court] 
[Court Address] 

Re: Case No. [Claim Number] – Request for Costs Consideration under CPR 27.14(2)(g) 

Dear Sir/Madam, 

I write in relation to the above-referenced case, which I was defending. I have recently become aware that the claimant discontinued the claim on 11th February 2025, but they failed to notify me of this. I only discovered that the claim had been discontinued after contacting the court on 5th March 2025. 

It is my submission that the claimant’s failure to inform me of the discontinuance constitutes unreasonable behaviour under CPR 27.14(2)(g), as it caused unnecessary time, stress, and effort in continuing to deal with the matter. Had I not proactively contacted the court, I would have remained unaware of the discontinuance. 

In light of this, I respectfully request that the court considers awarding costs against the claimant. A breakdown of my costs is as follows: 

Description: Time spent dealing with the case after discontinuance (research, drafting letters, contacting the court) 
Hours: X 
Rate: £19 per hour 
Total: £XX.XX 

Description: Printing and postage costs 
Total: £XX.XX 

Description: Other reasonable costs (if applicable) 
Total: £XX.XX 

Total Costs Sought: £XX.XX

Given the claimant's unreasonable conduct in failing to notify me, I request that the court considers making an order for my costs on the papers. I would be grateful if the court could confirm whether this matter can be considered administratively or if further steps are required. 

Yours faithfully, 

[Defendant’s Name] 

Just put what you actually spent. Do not lie to the court. You can claim for your own time only. If you didn’t spend anything on printing, postage etc. then you can’t claim for it.

Costs are generally very limited in the Small Claims track. (This works both ways, and means that if you were to lose in small claims, you wouldn't find yourself liable to pay for the parking company's lawyer).

The exception is where you can show the other party has behaved unreasonably. Here, you are alleging that their failure to notify you they had discontinued the claim was unreasonable, and are therefore seeking your costs that were incurred as a result of their unreasonable behaviour.

Any costs you incurred before they discontinued were not a resukt of this.

Dear Sir/Madam,

Re: Case No. [Claim Number] – Request for Costs Consideration Following Discontinuance

Thank you for your response dated [insert date], advising that a formal N244 application is required to seek costs.

I write to respectfully clarify that I am not seeking to re-open the case or apply for any further directions but am instead requesting the court to exercise its discretion to award modest costs under CPR 27.14(2)(g), due to the claimant’s unreasonable conduct in failing to notify me of the discontinuance.

It is my understanding that following a late discontinuance, the court retains jurisdiction to consider costs under CPR 38.6 and that such requests can, and often are, considered on the papers without the need for a formal N244 application—particularly where no further hearing is necessary and the costs sought are proportionate.

In this case, the claimant discontinued on 11th February 2025 but failed to inform me. I only discovered this upon proactively contacting the court on 5th March 2025. I respectfully maintain that this failure to notify caused unnecessary stress, wasted effort, and inconvenience, and therefore constitutes unreasonable behaviour under CPR 27.14(2)(g).

Given the circumstances and the modest nature of the costs requested, I would be grateful if the court could confirm whether the request may be placed before a District Judge for consideration under the court's general discretion, without the need for a fee-bearing application.

Yours faithfully,

[Your Name]