Visit JCPCUKSC/2019/0054
Bott & Co Solicitors (Appellant) v Ryanair DAC (Respondent)
Case summary
Case ID
UKSC/2019/0054
Parties
Appellant(s)
Bott & Co Solicitors
Respondent(s)
Ryanair DAC
Issue
What are the limits to the principle (as espoused in Gavin Edmondson Solicitors Ltd v Haven Insurance Co Ltd [2018] UKSC 21) under which a solicitor can ask the Court to grant an equitable lien in order to protect his entitlement to fees as against his client?
Facts
The appellant is a solicitors' firm which deals with flight delay compensation claims on a "no win, no fee" basis. When it accepted a case, the appellant would send a letter before action to the relevant airline and ask for payment to be made to the appellant's client account. If this occurred, the appellant would check the payment, deduct its fees, and then pay the balance of the sum to the customer. If the airline failed to respond or disputed the claim, the appellant would consider issuing proceedings.In approximately February 2016, the respondent, Ryanair, stopped dealing with the appellant on outstanding claims. Instead, it began to deal directly with the appellant's clients and to pay compensation directly to them. The appellant issued proceedings against Ryanair; one of the issues in the case was whether the appellant had an equitable lien over its fees.The High Court and the Court of Appeal rejected this argument and dismissed the appellant’s claim. The appellant now appeals to the Supreme Court.
Date of issue
11 March 2019
Judgment appealed
Judgment details
Judgment date
16 March 2022
Neutral citation
[2022] UKSC 8
Judgment links
Judgment summary
16 March 2022
Appeal
Justices
Hearing dates
Start date
20 May 2021
End date
20 May 2021
Watch hearings
20 May 2021 - Morning session
20 May 2021 - Afternoon session
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Last updated 16 April 2024