Citation: BLR 721 TCC
Nature of case: In a dispute concerning a management services agreement, the defendant, a real estate investor, belatedly sought security for costs after a trial date had been fixed, following significant delay occasioned by amendments to claim and counterclaim. The court held that the threshold for security of costs had been met, because on available information the claimant would probably be unable to pay costs if it lost. The court exercised its discretion to reduce the gross amount to be taken into account to allow for the lateness of the application; a reduction from £2 million to £1 million was made to achieve a reasonable allowance for security which is not oppressive.
