Expenses in favour of an assisted person

There is no legal requirement for you to seek an award of expenses where your client is successful as an assisted person. We have no specific statutory power to require that your client seek an award of expenses, nor is our agreement required for your client to waive their right to expenses.

It is your responsibility to advise your client on the most appropriate course, and it is for your client to decide whether to seek an award of expenses. However, the cost burden of litigation should not fall on public funds where, in all the circumstances, it is appropriately borne by a party to the case, and this is one of the factors which should be kept in mind when making a decision about expenses.

Your client should, wherever possible and assuming there are reasonable prospects of recovery, seek an award of expenses so we can recoup the public funds spent on their behalf. This applies whether or not the unsuccessful opponent is an assisted person, although if they are, it may be more likely that the overall assessment of all factors points towards not seeking expenses.

Remember that if your client has a contribution or clawback from property recovered or preserved is an element of the case, not seeking expenses may have an impact for your client.

If, in a particular case, you would normally advise a private client to seek an award of expenses, you should consider very carefully whether there are any grounds for taking a different approach in a legal aid case.

Is the opponent likely to drop their defence to the case if expenses are not sought?

You must weigh up if seeking expenses could result in further procedure, at a cost out of proportion to the expenses.

A defender in, say, an interdict action may have an arguable case to defend on the merits, but may be content to live with the terms of an interim interdict, provided they do not have to pay expenses.  If so, there may be some justification for dropping the crave for expenses to avoid the action becoming fully defended.

However, do not simply decide against seeking expenses because the opponent states they will not oppose the action if no expenses are sought, but defend if a claim for expenses is not dropped, if there are other reasons which on balance support the pursuit of expenses.

Might your client be entitled to a refund of contribution if expenses are recovered?

Your client may be entitled to a full or partial refund of any contribution payable if expenses are recovered from the opponent. Even if your client currently has a nil contribution, this could be reassessed at a future date, and a substantial contribution may become payable by the assisted person.

Is property or money likely to be recovered or preserved?

In all cases where there will be clawback, and any cases where there might be, recovery of expenses is a very important. If expenses are successfully recovered from the opponent, the net cost borne by the Fund will be lower or even nil. This will reduce the amount of, or avoid, clawback from any property recovered or preserved by your client.

Any sum of money recovered under an award of, or agreement as to, expenses in favour of any party who is, or has been, receiving legal aid for the proceedings must be paid to us [section 17(2A) of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986].  The requirement is for any sum recovered to be paid to us, even where your client has been assisted for only part of the proceedings.

It also applies whether or not you intend to opt to seek payment of the judicial expenses in respect of fees and outlays rather than per the table of fees for legal work.

We have the power to take any proceedings needed to enforce or give effect to any award or agreement as to expenses, in our own name or in the name of your client [regulation 39(2) of The Civil Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 2002].

Where expenses are paid directly to us, our receipt is a good discharge to the payer.

Time limits for lodging judicial accounts of expenses

You must be aware of the time limits when lodging judicial accounts of expenses for taxation in cases where the paying party is unwilling to pay voluntarily.

In cases in the Court of Session, the time limit is not later than four months after the final interlocutor in which a finding of expenses is made (RCS r42.1(2)).  That four month limit applies whether it is you lodging the account, or us under regulation 39(2).

In ordinary actions in the Sheriff Court, and in the Sheriff Appeal Court, the time limit differs depending on whether it is you or us who is lodging the account.

If you are lodging the account, the time limit is not later than four months after the final judgment (OCR r32.1A and SACR r19.3).

If we are lodging the account under regulation 39(2), those same rules apply but extend the time limit to eight months.

For the purposes of those rules, a final judgment is one which disposes of the subject matter of proceedings, even though judgment may not have been pronounced on every question raised, or expenses found due may not have been modified, taxed or decerned for; accordingly, the time limits may begin to run even though there may be some remaining issues such as modification of expenses.

Informing us when an interim/final order is made

You must tell us immediately when an interim/final order is made for expenses in a Legal Aid case.

This also applies where there is to be a further hearing on the expenses due or an agreement is reached in terms of which expenses are recoverable from the opponent.

This also applies if you are going to be attempting recovery on behalf of the Assisted Person.  Because of the time limits, any delays in telling us could compromise our attempts to recover any award of expenses due to the Fund.

Recovering expenses from an opponent

If you are attempting recovery from the opponent you must tell us the steps you are taking.

Where you propose to proceed to taxation or enforce a decree, the taxation process does not need our prior approval, but you need our prior approval for each step in the execution of diligence.

However, if there is a special reason you do not get this, we can consider giving retrospective approval (see regulation 22).

Please note that if the prospects of recovery are poor, such as the opponent is in receipt of benefits and has no assets then there may be little point in proceeding to taxation, but the final decision will be dependent on the facts of the particular case.

When not attempting to recover expenses from an opponent

If you are not attempting recovery of the expenses from the opponent then you must send us your final account immediately.

You must also send a copy of the interlocutor or decree showing the award made.

To allow us to seek payment of the expenses from the opponent on an informal basis please also provide any details you may have on the opponent, such as:

• their last known address
• your view on the prospects of recovery
• any financial information such as employers or assets that they may hold.

If this is not possible, we may ask you to frame a judicial account, have it taxed and extract decree for expenses.

We will then enforce the decree against the party liable. The exception is if property is also recoverable from the opponent, in which case, you should be seeking recovery of both the principal or capital sum (or otherwise transfers property) and the expenses.