Ethan Riley Attends Court Hearing in Important Housing Disrepair Pre-Allocation Costs Case

Ethan Riley was briefed to attend the Leeds County Court on 17th June 2025 for the hearing of Carter v Leeds City Council, presided over by District Judge Hill. The case, brought under the Small Claims Track, concerned housing disrepair issues. While the parties had already reached an agreement regarding damages and the completion of outstanding repair work, the sole remaining matter before the court was the issue of legal costs incurred prior to the claim’s allocation.

The claimant sought an order for costs incurred before the case was formally allocated to the Small Claims Track, arguing that these should be treated as if the claim had proceeded on the Fast Track. The repairs, amounting to approximately £1,228, were completed on 19 December 2024—just three days before the claim was served. The defendant, Leeds City Council, contended that the deletion of Civil Procedure Rule (CPR) 46.11 removed the court’s jurisdiction to award such costs, referencing commentary from Cook on Costs to support their position.

However, Judge Hill ruled in favour of the claimant, citing the precedent set in Birmingham City Council v Lee [2008] EWCA Civ 891. He concluded that despite the removal of CPR 46.11, the reasoning in Lee remained valid, grounded in protocol and policy rather than the rule itself. The judge emphasized that the court’s discretion over pre-allocation costs was still intact, and that no current rule explicitly limited such awards.

In a decisive conclusion, Judge Hill affirmed that Lee v Birmingham remains binding and awarded Carter her costs up to 19 December 2024. The judgment clarifies the ongoing relevance of pre-allocation cost recovery in housing disrepair claims, even in the absence of CPR 46.11. Ethan Riley’s attendance at the hearing underscores the significance of the case, which may influence future litigation strategies in similar disputes.