A pro bono costs award has been made by the English High Court in healthcare judicial review proceedings brought by a patient group. The proceedings were settled, but the Friends of Bellingham Surgery (FOBS) group sought notional pro bono costs under section 194 of the Legal Services Act 2007. They claimed that the authority could have taken steps to avoid or at least shorten proceedings. The Court agreed, and, applying the principles in R (on the application of Boxall) v Waltham Forest LBC, ordered the authority to pay £6,400 in costs to the Access to Justice Foundation.
The patient group had previously also been awarded a protective costs order, which capped the group's liability to pay costs in the event that they were unsuccessful at a substantive hearing, on the basis of the general public importance of the case.
FOBS was represented pro bono by barrister Tom Cross of 11Kbw Chambers
Click here to see the High Court order granting the notional pro bono costs.