Robert-Jan Temmink, instructed by Teacher Stern, successfully acted for Mr Alade, a former client of Alpha Rocks Solicitors, in defence of a claim for professional fees. The defence alleged fraud on the part of the solicitors and counterclaimed for fees paid on account. The Court found that an “invoice and bill of costs were false as regards a majority of the fees charged and Alpha Rocks must have known that, or at the very least been reckless”. The Court found that another “bill was false. Alpha Rocks could not have submitted its invoice and bill without knowing, or being at least reckless as to its falsity… I have no alternative but to find that Alpha Rocks’ instructions to [a costs consultant], the failure to correct the bill of costs created by [the costs consultant] and Alpha Rocks’ continuing reliance on it was all dishonest”.
The claim had an interesting procedural history, having been struck out as an abuse of the Court’s process at an interlocutory stage ([2014] 6 Costs LR 1039), only to be reinstated by the Court of Appeal ([2015] 1 WLR 4534) on the basis that strike out at an early stage of the proceedings had been too draconian a remedy and the findings then made of dishonesty should not have been made without oral evidence.
At trial, after cross-examination of the firm’s witnesses, the Court found “Alpha Rocks appeared to demonstrate a high level of ineptitude.. much of its argument might be described as perverse, naïve or even preposterous.. I must conclude that many of its shortcomings in dealing with and for Mr Alade were not the result of negligence or eccentricity, however gross. In particular, its bills.. were each variously false… this can only have resulted from a dishonest plan to charge for sums which it knew it was not entitled on the basis claimed, or was at least reckless as to the same..”.
The Court dismissed the firm’s claim for fees and ordered Alpha Rocks to pay back all sums paid by Mr Alade on account together with interest. A copy of the judgment can be found via the attached link
