Description
The Claimant sought an order for costs against the Defendant following a finding that the road accident in which he had been injured had been caused by the Defendant's negligence. There had been a split trial, with liability determined first. Damages were still to be decided. It was held that the words "until the case has been decided" had a clear meaning. It was clear that "the case" was used in the sense of "the action" or "the proceedings". The reference to "the case" could not be construed as referring to part of a case. If CPR.36.13(2) had been intended to refer to liability being decided as well as the case being decided, different wording would have been used. By reason of the rule, the court could not be told the position as to Part 36 offers, and because of that it could not deal with costs.
