Detailed assessment

Introduction

Detailed assessment is a process by which the court determines the level of costs to be paid by one party to another. Generally, costs will be agreed between the parties and so the use of detailed assessment to determine the costs payable to the winning party is relatively rare. If you are involved in a detailed assessment, it is essential to understand the process, the rules (and where to find them), the involvement of the court, the time limitations and the terminology that applies as well as the different types of costs certificates available:

1. •

   paying party—the party who has been ordered by the court to pay costs

2. •

   receiving party—the party to be paid their costs

The receiving party has responsibility for starting the detailed assessment process, which must be commenced within three months after the event giving rise to the right arose, eg within three months after the date of judgment. Failure to commence detailed assessment in time can result in sanctions being applied. In order to commence detailed assessment, the receiving party needs to serve documents set out in CPR PD 47, para 5.2 on