16 October 2008
Equitas Ltd v Horace Holman & Co Ltd [2008] EWHC 2287 (Comm), [2008] All ER (D) 35 (Oct)
An order for the payment of costs by a non-party will always be exceptional. It will be even more exceptional for such an order to be made where the applicant has a cause of action against the non-party and could have joined him as a party to the original proceedings.
Even if the applicant can provide a good reason for not joining the non-party against whom he has a valid cause of action, he should warn the non-party at the earliest opportunity of the possibility that he may seek to apply for costs against him. At the very least this will give the non-party an opportunity to apply to be joined as a party to the action.
