What is the test for a plaintiff to apply for increased costs in a case where there has been significant recovery under a contingency agreement?
British Columbia, Canada
The following excerpt is from Suveges v. Martens, 2002 BCSC 882 (CanLII):
The defendant also relies on the decision of Edwards J. in Lucas v. Hardie et al., [1998] B.C.J. No. 1079 (Q.L.)(S.C.), a case where the plaintiff applied for increased costs in an amount equal to 50% of the entire contingency fee. Edwards J. stated at paras. 7-8: In the absence of any precedent for an award of increased costs in a case where there has been significant recovery under a contingency agreement, I presume the plaintiff was advised at the time she made her agreement that any costs recovered would in all likelihood be considerably less than the fees she had agreed to pay. There is nothing inherently unjust about the result in this case because the plaintiff agreed to pay fees which were far above ordinary costs normally awarded in cases of this kind.
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