Erica Bedford and Tom Mason, instructed by Nick McDonnell of Kain Knight, have secured an important unanimous victory in the Court of Appeal in Turner v Coupland Cavendish Limited [2026] EWCA Civ 1204. Read our full press release here.
The Court of Appeal overturned the High Court's decision and has provided authoritative guidance on the limits of a costs judge's jurisdiction under the Solicitors Act 1974, the scope of the cash account, and the proper use of CPR Part 18 within solicitor and own client assessments. The judgment also confirms that Raubenheimer was wrongly decided and should no longer be followed.
The decision is likely to have significant implications for costs litigation, particularly in relation to attempts to use Part 18 Requests to investigate potential ATE commission arrangements within Solicitors Act assessments.
This is an important judgment for costs practitioners, costs lawyers, solicitors and insurers alike, bringing much-needed clarity to an area that has generated considerable satellite litigation in recent years.
On Wednesday, 30 September, the Turner team delivered an online seminar to discuss the full legal and practical ramifications of the decision.
The recording of this online seminar is available to watch below. The presentation slides can be downloaded here.
Our online seminar recordings are also available on our Vimeo page.
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