HT-2023-000006 - [2024] EWHC 1510 (TCC)

Fecha: 18-Jun-2024

Claim for directors and consultants’ time

Claim for directors and consultants’ time

476.

Claim 8 is a claim for £40,573.80. Of this £16,573.80 relates to Mr Judd’s time and £24,000 to Mr Paduraru’s time.

477.

In Mr Frampton’s written Opening Submissions he submits:

295.

For the reasons set out above, A&V has not established any of the breaches on which it seeks to rely or that it was ready and willing to carry out the works.

296.

These alleged losses are not, in any event, as a matter of principle recoverable:

296.1.

Any time spent on the adjudications, previous court proceedings are not recoverable as damages and have already been determined or cannot be claimed. That must include all time of and incidental to those earlier proceedings.

296.2

The other time spent appears to be the costs of pursuing A&V’s claim, effectively costs of and incidental to these proceedings. Those costs would be subject to the Court’s rules on costs, not damages.

296.3

For the avoidance of doubt, Mr Judd’s fees would not be recoverable as costs. Mr Judd was carrying out tasks (in terms of correspondence etc) which would have been done by a solicitor (see the discussion in Octoesse LLP v Trak Special Projects Ltd [2016] EWHC 3180 (TCC), 6 Costs LR 1187, in particular at [29]). A consultant’s costs were recoverable in those proceedings however the Court’s reasoning was specific to adjudication enforcement business, it does not apply to full Part 7 proceedings following an adjudication.

297.

Mr Paduraru’s time is, yet further:

297.1

Duplicative of the claims for overheads and profit in Claims 6 and 7.

297.2

Based on a theoretical calculation of 8 hours per month at a rate of £100. There is no evidence that A&V incurred such costs, and it cannot be said that Mr Paduraru could otherwise have spent his time profitably given A&V’s financial position.

478.

The costs are claimed as having been incurred after March 2021. I accept that these amounts must therefore have been incurred principally or exclusively in connection with the adjudications and/or the court proceedings.

479.

I agree with the submission above that costs occasioned by or connected with the adjudications are not recoverable as damages nor as costs.

480.

I also agree that the costs occasioned by or connected with the court proceedings are not recoverable as damages.

481.

Insofar as actions other than this present action are concerned, the costs have already been the subject of orders in those proceedings, and it would not now be appropriate for me to make any order in respect of costs in other proceedings in this action.

482.

As to the costs of this action, these will be dealt with in the normal way, otherwise this claim is dismissed.