FSA Set To Pay Plumber Costs

Andrew Hart is head of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer’s dispute resolution banking and financial services group. Oliver Kerridge is an associate in that group.

Following the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal’s (the Tribunal) decision in May 2006 that Paul Davidson (also known as “the Plumber”) and Ashley Tatham were not guilty of market abuse, both Mr Davidson and Mr Tatham applied for a costs order that the FSA should pay the costs and expenses incurred by them in conducting the proceedings before the Tribunal. The Tribunal granted the application in October 2006 making this the first time that costs have successfully been recouped for a full set of Tribunal proceedings. This article briefly describes the Tribunal proceedings and then analyses the costs decision.