The firm at the heart of the Supreme Court ruling on solicitors fees have hailed the decision as a victory for innovation and boost for access to justice.
Judges ruled by a 3-2 majority to uphold Bott & Co’s appeal in its fight to recover costs from the flight compensation being paid out by airline Ryanair.
The firm had lost in the High Court and Court of Appeal but successfully argued before the Supreme Court that it significantly contributed to the recovery of compensation. Lady Arden, finding for Bott & Co, said the work of the solicitors ‘while inconvenient to Ryanair, is entrepreneurial and clearly results in solicitors providing a service which people find useful’.
David Bott, senior partner at Bott & Co, had previously said that his firm provided an innovative, technology-based legal solution for hundreds of thousands of claimants, but this had effectively been used against them and that they had been deprived of costs to which they were entitled.
Speaking after the verdict, Bott said: ‘We believe today’s ruling enables innovation to persist, with the law catching up with modern legal services. It is reassuring that the courts acknowledge that access to justice is well served by our activities and that airlines (or any potential defendant) should not interfere in matters where the claimant has chosen legal representation.’
The firm has recovered compensation for 226,000 passengers since 2013 and been forced to issue on 101,000 (45%) through the small claims court. It is now entitled to recoup from Ryanair charges which became due on or after 22 September 2016 from successful claimants who had been paid directly in an attempt to deny Bott the opportunity to deduct fees at source.
Rosenblatt Solicitors, which represented Bott & Co, said the ruling would resonate across the legal profession and establish the law over an equitable lien that has existed for more than 200 years.
Partner Anthony Field added: ‘It important for people without the ability to pay lawyers to get representation. Today’s decision goes a long way to protecting the public and giving them access to good quality properly funded legal advice.’
Ryanair said it welcomed the court’s recognition that the airline had provided a ‘relatively straightforward’ procedure on its website for customers to claim compensation directly without involving a solicitor. The company also pointed to Lord Burrows’ observation that ‘one might therefore say that Bott has been providing no added value to what a reasonably competent customer of Ryanair can sort out for himself or herself without incurring any legal costs’.
The airline added: ‘Ryanair urges customers with valid EU261 compensation claims to submit their claims directly to Ryanair and avoid “claims chaser” firms such as Bott & Co, Fairplane, Hayward Baker, Sky Legal and Flightright, who can deduct over 40% of a £220 claim in fees.’
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