The Applicant, Al-Ghamdi, resisted an award of Costs to the Respondents following his unsuccessful Application for Leave to Appeal a Decision of a single Appeal Judge to a Panel of the Court of Appeal. Al-Ghamdi argued that the Respondents, who were each represented by one Counsel, were not entitled to an award of Costs under Schedule C based on Rules 10.35 and 14.88.

The Court noted that Al-Ghamdi had misinterpreted Rule 14.88: the Rule “does not set a pre-condition for the presumptive entitlement to costs”. Further the two-month time-limit for a party to apply for an Order with respect to Costs applied in a situation where a party applied for a different Costs award than the presumptive structure that Schedule C provides. As to whether a Bill of Costs was required, the Court explained that the purpose of a Bill of Costs under Rule 10.35 is to permit the party liable for Costs to object to specific line items. In this case, the only Costs sought were the Costs for steps as set out in Schedule C.

The Court observed that, though some authorities opined that Costs under Schedule C are too low, there was no apparent basis to reject the Respondents’ claim for a single award of Costs. The Court accordingly granted the Respondents’ request for Costs.