QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
TECHNOLOGY AND CONSTRUCTION COURT
Rolls Building, Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1NL |
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B e f o r e :
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Findcharm Limited |
Claimant |
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- and - |
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Churchill Group Limited |
Defendant |
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Ms Pinar Akyol of Kennedys for the Defendant
Hearing date: 12 May 2017
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Crown Copyright ©
The Hon. Mr Justice Coulson :
- Disclosure: Findcharm's estimate is just below £30,000. For a case with a large claim for loss of profit, that seems to me to be reasonable. Churchill's offer of £10,600 is unjustifiably low.
- Witness Statements: Findcharm's estimate is £40,235 for the preparation of three witness statements and the consideration of the two statements to be produced by Churchill. Again that seems to me to be reasonable. But Churchill offer just £5,300 for all that work. That is simply incredible in a case where, not only does the background and circumstances of the explosion need to be explained, but also where a large claim for loss of profits will need to be underpinned by detailed factual evidence. As Ms Akyol herself pointed out, that claim is based on factual assumptions that will need to be carefully analysed.
- Experts reports: Findcharm have allowed £28,648 for this item, which is not excessive, given the particularly high fees charged by forensic accountants. That figure is based on a single joint expert's report, which is what I have ordered. Churchill allow £16,000 odd for this, based on an expert's fee of £13,500. Ms Akyol conceded that this figure was not based on any estimate from a proposed expert. In my experience, it is wholly out of step with what an expert accountant would charge for this type of work.
- Trial preparation: Findcharm have allowed £69,765 for trial preparation. In view of the sums at stake, and the potential complexity of the damages claim, I consider that that is not unreasonable. The sum of £10,000 allowed for by Churchill reflects their own unrealistically low figure for this stage, and is again unjustifiable.