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| 6. |
If you are the Receiving Party, you should draft a bill of costs containing
| (i) |
the title of the action;
|
| (ii) |
the relevant costs order, setting out the date it was made and by whom;
|
| (iii) |
the fee earner (probably only yourself) and the hourly rate;
|
| (iv) |
the items of work done, by whom and on what dates they were done. The items should be numbered and in chronological order;
|
| (v) |
the costs charged on each item of work, either in a fixed sum permissible by the
Rules of the High Court
or on an hourly basis. For disbursements like counsel's fees, expert fees or filing fees, you should set out the amounts as you have paid them;
|
| (vi) |
costs of taxation, i.e. the amount of time spent on drafting the bill, preparation for the taxation, attendance for the purpose of taxation, calculation and drawing up of the taxed bill and the application for the certificate of costs etc. at the fee earner's rate; and
|
| (vii) |
the total amount of all costs claimed.
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A sample of such a bill is in
Appendix I.
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| 7. |
You should then file your bill of costs with the Registry and pay a taxing fee. You should also send a copy of this bill to the Paying Party immediately. If the amount of your bill is for the sum of $100,000 or below, no hearing date will be fixed. The Chief Judicial Clerk of the Registry will assess your bill. You will be notified in writing of the amount provisionally allowed by him.
If both parties agree, a certificate can be issued and sealed stating the amount assessed as the costs together with the taxing fees. If either party disagrees to the amount provisionally assessed, he or she can apply for an appointment before the taxing master, in which case, the taxation procedure in count as stated in paragraphs below will apply.
Taxation procedure in court
|
| 8. |
If the amount of your bill exceeds $100,000, you will be given an appointment before the taxing master for the first hearing called call-over hearing. The Paying Party should send the List of Objections to the Receiving Party and the court at least 3 clear days (i.e. excluding Sundays and public holidays) before the hearing. Parties should also try to reach an agreement either on the whole of the bill or on as many items as possible. At the hearing the taxing master will give directions e.g. to fix dates for the formal taxation hearing based on the time estimation of the parties. If the Paying Party does not attend the call-over hearing, the taxing master may tax the bill or allow all the items on the bill.
|
| 9. |
If your are the Paying Party, as soon as you have received the bill of costs, you should try to negotiate with the Receiving Party to reach a lump sum settlement or to resolve as many disputed items as possible. If attempts to settle fail, you should then proceed to prepare the List of Objections. You should send a copy of your List of Objections to the Receiving Party or his solicitors at least 3 clear days before the hearing and file a copy with the Court Registry. You have to identify the page and item numbers in the Receiving Party's bill of costs which you object to pay and give brief reasons for the objections. You should also suggest a reasonable amount of costs for that item.
Usually, the objections are made to:
| (i) |
the hourly rate charged;
|
| (ii) |
the time claimed to have been incurred on a piece of work;
|
| (iii) |
the amount of costs claimed being excessive;
|
| (iv) |
the person or persons doing that piece of work being not qualified or over qualified;
|
| (v) |
the work done being not covered by the terms of the order; or
|
| (vi) |
the piece of work not being necessary or proper.
|
A sample of the List of Objections is in
Appendix II.
|
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| 10. |
If you are the Receiving Party, upon receiving the List of Objections from the Paying Party, you should consider those objections and attempt settlement with the paying party. Unless you can settle the whole sum, you should prepare a taxation bundle containing all supporting documents for those items of costs to which the Paying Party objects. This will enable the taxing master to decide if the costs you claim are justified. The taxation bundle has to be submitted to the taxing master's clerk at least 2 clear days before the hearing.
|
| 11. |
At the formal taxation, the taxing master will go through each item of costs objected to. Each party will be permitted to make submission. The taxing master will pronounce the amount he allows item by item.
|
| 12. |
Upon completion of the taxation, the parties should calculate the total amount which the taxing master has allowed. The parties can jointly submit a certificate (called an allocatur) to the taxing master for approval. If the taxing master approves it, a certificate will be issued. With that certificate, the costs can be enforced just like any judgment sum.
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