Almost €15 million was deducted by adjudicators from a total of €35 million in legal costs claimed in 179 cases which were decided last year.
The cases included 24 medical negligence cases, in which costs claims amounted to a total €17.2 million and total deductions of €7.36 million were made.
The figures were set out in the annual report for 2024, published on Monday, of the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators.
In three planning matters, total costs of €2.58 million were claimed and almost €1.3 million was deducted. In a single professional negligence case, a claim for €387,792 costs was cut to €241,714, a reduction of €146,078.
RM Block
More than €518,000 was cut from a total €1.82 million claimed for costs related to 27 road traffic incident cases. In 15 employers/occupiers liability cases, a total €1.86 million in costs was claimed but €778,588 was cut from that amount.
About €157,000 was shaved off the €574,087 total costs claimed for seven family law cases, while a claim for €140,368 in a constitutional law case was cut to €90,442.
The adjudicators determine legal costs disputes, mostly between parties to litigation and mostly concerning litigation in the superior courts – the High Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court. Costs disputes between a lawyer and their client also fall within the remit of the office but it does not deal with claims of excessive costs or inadequate legal services.
Circuit Court costs are dealt with by county registrars and District Court costs are dealt with by the District Court judge involved.
The report said 912 cases, claiming a total €145.3 million costs, were filed last year for adjudication, a slight reduction on the 1,015 received in 2023.
Of the 912, the highest number, 181, related to road traffic incidents; 152 related to employers and occupiers’ liability; 136 to medical negligence and 88 to judicial review.
Part of the office’s remit is to facilitate resolution of legal costs disputes and 1,019 cases involving total costs claims of about €176 million were settled, some formally, some informally, before any adjudication.
The settled cases included 92 judicial reviews involving total costs claims of about €27.1 million; 160 employers/occupiers liability cases involving total costs claims of €22.4 million; 164 medical negligence cases involving total costs claims of €57 million; and 195 road traffic cases involving total costs claims of about €15 million.
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Of 179 applications which went to adjudication and were decided in 2024, involving total costs claims of €35.25 million, the adjudicators permitted costs of €20.48 million, meaning a deduction of about €14.7 million. One conveyancing case involved a claim for costs of almost €44,000 and a case involving a pension claim sought costs of €182,103.
By the end of last year, the office had 394 cases at hand involving claims amounting to a total €75.8 million. Those include a claim for just over €1 million total costs related to two defamation cases.
Cases at hand are those which were previously lodged with the office but remain uncompleted for reasons including the parties having sought an adjournment, the matter awaiting a hearing, decision or a reconsideration of a decision.
The report said the average time from an adjudication application being lodged to the first hearing date was seven weeks in 2024, similar to the three previous years.
Chief legal costs adjudicator Barry Magee, who was appointed to the position last October, said that effectively means no delays between lodging an application and a case coming up for hearing.
