Ms W Rose Davis v Wren Davis Limited and 2 others — 2024

This was a judgment on the Claimant's application for costs against the Respondents arising from preliminary hearings on 23 April 2024 and 18 June 2024. Employment Judge Annand found that the Respondents, who were represented by counsel (Mr Uddin), had failed to make an application to extend time to file their Response before the preliminary hearing on 23 April 2024, and had failed to adequately prepare for the hearing on 18 June 2024 by not ensuring the relevant documents (including the email of 30 October 2023 and the correct ET3) were in the bundle. As a result a third preliminary hearing had to be listed.

Applying the costs rules, the judge concluded that the Respondents had acted unreasonably in the conduct of the proceedings. The Respondents had been given an adequate opportunity to respond to the costs application but did not do so, so no submissions on their conduct or ability to pay were before the tribunal. While noting that costs are the exception and not the norm, the judge exercised her discretion to award costs to compensate the Claimant for the expense of paying counsel to attend two unnecessary preliminary hearings and to prepare the costs application.

The judge restricted the award to costs unreasonably incurred, declining to include the Claimant's solicitors' costs for reviewing paperwork or counsel's costs for drafting submissions opposing the extension of time, on the basis those costs would likely have been incurred in any event. The resulting costs order was GBP 2,400.