What are the costs penalties when a defendant won’t mediate? Masood Ahmed & Sanjay Dave Singh consider the case law
- This article examines the court’s treatment of a defendant’s refusal to mediate, illustrated in Assensus Ltd v Wirsol Energy Ltd.
- It pays particular attention to the claimant’s costs arguments arising from that refusal.
It is trite law that a court may penalise a party in costs for refusing to engage with alternative dispute resolution (ADR) or simply ignoring an invitation to engage with ADR (CPR 44.4, Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council [2023] EWCA Civ 1416; Halsey v Milton Keynes General NHS Trust [2004] EWCA Civ 576; PGF II SA v OMFS Co 1 Ltd [2013] EWCA Civ 1288; Northamber Plc v Genee World Ltd and others [2024] EWCA Civ 428). However, such adverse consequences are not automatic, as illustrated by the recent decision in Assensus Ltd v Wirsol Energy Ltd [2025] EWHC 503 (KB).
Following the dismissal of the claimant’s claims, the court in Assensus was required
