The Gazette 1958-61

Bank. On application for a certificate of the balance in the account for estate duty purposes, the Bank will furnish a notice of withdrawal. That should be signed by the personal representative, and forwarded with the Probate, or Grant of Administration. A warrant will then be issued by the Bank incorporat ing the statutory form of discharge. When the dis charge has been signed by the payee, and returned to the Bank, a cheque will be issued. The Association's form of draft letting agreement is now available at a price of if- per copy from the Honorary Treasurer, Mr. Rory O'Connor. The next meeting was fixed for Wednesday, ist April, 1959. SETTLEMENTS OF HIGH COURT ACTIONS WHEN considering an application to have a settle ment on behalf of a minor plaintiff made a rule of the court recently, Mr. Justice Murnaghan was re ported as having said that in future such settlements must be for all in sums and should not be submitted in such a way as to appropriate special amounts for payment of medical and hospital expenses. It has in the past been the practice of a number of solicitors to provide in consents on the settlement of an action that the hospital and medical expenses should be paid to the solicitor acting for the plaintiff on his under taking to discharge these expenses. This was done by virtue of the provisions of the Road Traffic Acts giving hospitals certain rights against the defendant if the liability is not paid by the injured party. The effect of the new practice laid down by Mr. Justice Murnaghan is that the settlement should provide for an all-in sum to cover general and special damages and the Judge will decide on making the settlement a rule of court what amount, if any, is to be paid to the hospital and the medical practitioners, having regard to all-the circumstances including the pro visions of the Health Act. The ruling has no application to costs. SOLICITOR AND CLIENT COSTS IN CIRCUIT COURT MATTERS THE Council have from time to time been asked for guidance by members on the appropriate scale of solicitor and own client costs in Circuit Court pro ceedings. In order XL, rule 28 of the Circuit Court Rules 1932, it was provided that the solicitor and own client scale of costs in Circuit Court matters should be the same as the party and party costs in one particular case, viz, where the amount sued for or recovered exceeded £100, the appropriate scale of costs being High Court less one third. There was no similar provision in the Circuit Court Rules 1950 or 1954, which are silent on the question of the ap­

propriate scale in such cases. Counsel to whom a case was submitted for advice expressed the opinion that the absence of a scale of costs does not deprive the Taxing Masters of jurisdiction and that in the circumstances their duty is to tax reasonably. Following the alteration in the jurisdiction of the Circuit Court the Circuit Court Rules 1954 prescribed new party and party scales, viz, (i) the fixed scale in part i, section (c) in the third schedule where the amount involved does not exceed £100 ; (2) the High Court party and party scale for the time being less one third where the amount involved exceeds £100 but does not exceed £300 ; (3) The High Court scale for the time being less one fifth where the amount involved exceeds £300 but does not exceed £600. Counsel took the view that the Taxing Masters in the absence of a scale of costs to help them in fixing reasonable charges should look at all the cir cumstances of the case including the various scales of costs as between party and party, having regard to the express statutory provisions in the rules of 1932, which in effect took the highest scale of costs as between party and party as the proper scale where the costs are to be taxed as between solicitor and client. It is understood that the current practice in the Taxing Masters, office is as follows. The Taxing Masters in taxing bills of cost as between solicitor and client will act reasonably. Generally they will allow solicitors more than the party and party costs set out in the Circuit Court Rules. They will not necessarily allow costs on the High Court scale less one third or less one fifth. In particular cases they may tax on such a basis but each matter will depend on its own facts and circumstances. On a taxation of costs as between solicitor and client in a Circuit Court matter it might be objected on behalf of the client that the solicitor in claiming say £600 damages when he should have claimed only £200 or £300 should be entitled to tax his costs only on the basis of a claim for the smaller amount if he had not ex plained to the client that he might incur additional liability for costs by claiming the larger amount in the Civil Bill. In such a case the solicitor might be expected to satisfy the Taxing Master that he is en titled to tax on the basis of a claim for £600. This difficulty will not of course arise in the defence of a civil bill for £600 as the defendant's solicitor has no option in the matter. DECISIONS OF PROFESSIONAL INTEREST Certain business done bj a liquidator, under a winding-up order of the Court, is " non-contentious" business and should be taxed accordingly. In October, 1956, the liquidator of a company, which was being wound-up under an order of the 95