Lord Justice Jackson rejects calls for greater than 10% rise in general damages

Lord Justice Jackson has rejected calls for general damages to be increased by more than the 10% rise he recommended as part of his reforms to civil litigation.

In the final report of his costs review, the judge said the 10% increase should apply in personal injuries litigation to general damages for pain suffering and loss of amenity.

He also said it should apply to general damages for nuisance, defamation and any other tort which causes suffering to individuals.

Speaking at a conference in London today, Lord Justice Jackson pointed out that his recommendation had been attacked by both liability insurers and the claimant side.

The judge said the claimant side had argued that a much larger increase in general damages was required, “in order to ensure that no claimants lose out as a result of having to pay their own success fees”.

Lord Justice Jackson insisted that calls for a greater than 10% increase were “misconceived” and that there was “no conceivable justification for moving above the recommended figure”.

He argued that:

• The forthcoming reforms to conditional fee agreements (“CFAs”) could quite properly have been introduced without any increase in general damages.
• The proposed increase of 10% had the consequence that most claimants would be better off under the package of reforms as a whole.
• It would not be proper to unpick this part of the package in an attempt to secure additional cash for claimants and their lawyers.

Lord Justice Jackson added that the recommendation – number 10 out of 109 in all – was intended to be part of a balanced package of reforms, “which will bring an end to some of the absurdities and injustices of the present costs rules and at the same time afford reasonable protection to all litigations”.

No package of reforms is perfect, he added.

Lord Justice Jackson’s reforms are set to be introduced in April 2013, six months later than originally planned. The Ministry of Justice said it wanted to get the complex details right.

Last week a shadow minister, Roberta Blackman-Woods MP, warned that the government’s implementation of the Jackson reforms was “likely to have a huge impact on local authorities and could see claims costs soar”.

In particular she pointed to the introduction of qualified one-way costs shifting, where claimants will not normally be required to pay defendants’ costs if a claim is unsuccessful.

A copy of the judge’s speech can be viewed here.