A legal challenge to halt cuts to personal injury fees will be fast-tracked through the High Court, it was revealed today.

The judicial review application by two claimant groups in opposition to new recoverable fixed costs in the RTA Portal has been listed for a ‘rolled-up’ hearing as soon as possible.

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS) have jointly brought the action, but time is running out before the 1 April date on which the new costs are set to come into force.

The rolled-up hearing amalgamates the two stages in which permission for the case to proceed is considered based on submitted papers.

Rather than conducting an oral hearing in the event that permission is granted, the APIL and MASS case will be subject to a single hearing at which the court will determine whether permission should be granted and then, if so, the hearing will continue to deal with the substantive claim.

It was confirmed on Tuesday that the hearing will take place on 1 March.

The order was made by the Administrative Court’s own motion on 6 February, as directed by the president of the Queen’s Bench Division.

The Ministry of Justice announced last year it would consult on new fixed costs of £500 for claims under £10,000 coming through the portal. The consultation closed on 4 January.

Today the MoJ declined to give any update on the final costs decision or when the portal extension will take place, having announced before Christmas that plans to expand it on 1 April were postponed and an update would come ‘in the new year’.