Adam Zellick QC in leading appellate case on security for costs and ATE insurance

On 23 November 2017, the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in Premier Motorauctions Limited (in liquidation), Premier Motorauctions Leeds Limited (in liquidation) v PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP and Lloyds Bank plc [2017] EWCA Civ 1872.  This appeal raised the question of whether a defendant may be entitled to security for costs when a claimant has cancellable ATE insurance in place.  Adam Zellick QC appeared for Lloyds Bank Plc on the appeal.

In a unanimous ruling, the Court of Appeal allowed the appeals of PricewaterhouseCoopers and Lloyds Bank and overturned the High Court’s judgment on the Defendants’ security for costs applications ([2016] EWHC 2610 (Ch)).  Whereas the High Court had held that the Claimants’ ATE insurance meant that there was no jurisdiction to order security for costs, the Court of Appeal reversed that conclusion, holding that the ATE insurance did not remove the jurisdiction to order security and ordering the Claimants to provide security for costs in the overall sum of £4 million.  This decision marks the first appellate authority on the relationship between standard form ATE insurance and security for costs.

The Court of Appeal’s judgment can be found here.