Costs in Third-party Claims
Sometimes a defendant brings a claim, for a contribution or an indemnity towards damages, against a third party. For example, a diner claims against a restaurant for a dose of food poisoning and the restaurant claims against their supplier of shellfish. Again, "costs follow the event". If the restaurant successfully defends the claim, they pay the supplier's costs and recover the same amount from the unsuccessful claimant. This can cause injustice when the unsuccessful claimant is insolvent and the successful defendant is still liable for third-party costs. The courts will only rarely allow a "cut through" of the third-party's costs to the claimant but the interests of justice prevail.
Read more about this topic: Costs (English Law)
Famous quotes containing the words costs and/or claims:
“To exercise power costs effort and demands courage. That is why so many fail to assert rights to which they are perfectly entitled—because a right is a kind of power but they are too lazy or too cowardly to exercise it. The virtues which cloak these faults are called patience and forbearance.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“A clumsy fool claims his knife is blunt.”
—Chinese proverb.