DeNovo | Legal Costs Experts’ Post

💷 Resisting a payment on account: assertion is not evidence In R (Siddiqui) v Financial Ombudsman Service Ltd [2026] EWHC 1878 (Admin), the Administrative Court considered the costs consequences following the dismissal of a judicial review concerning legal expenses insurance. The claimant argued that: ▪️ the complexity and public importance of the case justified departing from the usual costs rule; and ▪️ his limited means and personal circumstances made a payment on account inappropriate. The court rejected both arguments. The claimant was ordered to pay the Financial Ombudsman Service’s costs on the standard basis. Under CPR 44.2(8), the court also ordered a payment on account of £25,000, reduced from the £30,916.20 sought. The central feature of the decision is the absence of supporting evidence. The claimant asserted that payment would cause hardship, but provided no evidence of his means. Referring to Mahan Air v Blue Sky One Ltd [2011] EWCA Civ 544, the court said that a party relying on impecuniosity must provide full and frank evidence of its financial position. Without that evidence, the court found: 📌 no sufficient reason to displace the usual rule that costs follow the event; 📌 no “good reason” not to order a payment on account under CPR 44.2(8); and 📌 no sufficient evidential basis for a stay of enforcement pending appeal. The court nevertheless retained a degree of flexibility. It reduced the payment sought and gave the claimant liberty to apply for staged payments, provided that any application was supported by full and frank disclosure of his assets and income. The decision draws a clear distinction between an inability to pay and an unsupported assertion of inability to pay. A party seeking to resist a payment on account, vary its terms or stay enforcement should address the evidential position at the outset. That may require detailed evidence of assets, income, liabilities and the practical effect of immediate payment. Where medical circumstances are relied upon, the evidence should also explain its factual basis, the assessment undertaken and its relevance to the relief sought. ⚖️ At DeNovo | Legal Costs Experts, we advise on complex and high-value costs disputes arising from commercial litigation, group actions and other high-stakes proceedings. #LitigationCosts #CostsLaw #CivilProcedure #CPR #PaymentOnAccount #DetailedAssessment #CommercialLitigation #JudicialReview #DisputeResolution