Change in the law will impact operators’ defence costs 01 July 2013

A change in the law that affects operators' ability to recovery their costs, even when acquitted in court, might tempt operators to make the serious mistake of pleading guilty, even when they're not.

That's the warning from Andrew Woolfall of Backhouse Jones Solicitors, who also advises that attempting to save on legal expenses could cost companies their operators' licences, through no fault of their own.

"Defending a case can be expensive but, traditionally, if part of the case is dropped or allegations are successfully defended, then the accused has been entitled to recover some, if not all, of his legal costs from the court," explains Woolfall.

"However, all that is set to change from October. New legislation to be introduced by the government means that companies that successfully defend themselves will not be able to recover any legal costs," he continues.

"And individuals, such as drivers, sole traders or those in partnership will only be able to recover their costs in line with legal aid rates. On average this is somewhere between a quarter and a fifth of most lawyers' normal charging rates."

Woolfall suggests that, since successfully defending a prosecution can cost several thousand pounds, many defendants might be tempted to plead guilty and avoid the costs – especially if the fine on a guilty plea is much less than the costs that would otherwise be incurred.

"While such a course of action might be economically sensible in the short term, it could have disastrous implications for the operator's licence or any other regulated authorisations, such as waste licences etc," warns Woolfall.

"It is highly unlikely that a traffic commissioner will entertain an operator's submission of 'I am not guilty really; I only pleaded guilty because it was cheaper than paying the costs of defending the case'.

"The traffic commissioner's starting point will be that the individual or business has pleaded guilty and therefore is guilty. And given that certain convictions automatically lead to a loss of good repute, this could result in the operator's licence being revoked."

Woolfall advises that trade associations are looking at new legal expenses insurance policies and legal services schemes, and some are already available through insurance brokers.

"Individuals and operators would be well advised to think how they will be best placed to defend even the most innocuous of proceedings in the future," insists Woolfall. "Anyone thinking of pleading guilty to save money should take into account the effect this might have in a much wider way."

Andrew Woolfall will be speaking at the IRTE Conference, at the Gaydon Motor Heritage Centre on 11 September 2013.

Author
Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Backhouse Jones Solicitors

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