Costs of Interim Hearing

Richardson v Desquenne Et Giral UK Ltd (CA CLW 10 March)

At the end of the hearing of an application for an interim injunction to enforce a restraint clause in a contract of employment the judge found that both sides had an arguable case but made an injunction for the ‘balance of convenience’. In these circumstances he was wrong to have made an order for costs against the employee, summarily assessed at £16,000. The judge’s reasons for making the injunction meant that there was no winner or loser on the issue and therefore the question of costs should have been reserved to the trial judge.