Poor quality dangerous work on patio

[Iva]

Good evening.

I had to take our landscaper to court because his company had done terrible and dangerous work on our patio. We gave them a chance to fix it but they weren't able to. We had to find someone else who relaid the whole patio, and we paid for new materials and labour and further damages. Original landscaper refused to reimburse me for these extra costs and inconvenience.

We had a preliminary hearing where the judge ordered an expert to write a report which costs around £2000 which is unreasonable and unfeasible considering I'm claiming £5000. I told the court and they want to know what order I'm seeking and what expert I want to write the independent report. The judge capped the expert's fees at £400 and when provided with quotes from us he chose the cheapest which is still £2000 +.

I don't want to drop the case because I know I'm right and the landscaper is a cowboy but the expert has still not been appointed and we have a hearing in October 2022. Can the judge penalise us for not following the order and not providing him with a report?

All suggestions welcome and appreciated. Many thanks

[echat11]

Hi IVA

How can an experts report on laying patio cost £2,000? That is ridiculous.

See if you can get a quote from the following expert, but don't state that you have received quotes for £2,000 from others.

Try to narrow the range of what is required from the expert.

https://www.jspubs.com/expert-witness/si/l/landscape/

Posted for info only - https://expert-evidence.com/expert-w...osts-and-fees/

[atticus]

If you read the court order, I think this will say that you have permission to rely on expert evidence. If so, you are not obliged to commission or serve an expert's report. But will you be able to prove your case without expert evidence? There is a cost/benefit analysis that you will need to do.

You will need to ask the proposed expert to explain the basis of his or her charges. Might this include an element for attending the hearing to give evidence?

Finally, please note that experts' reports for use in Court must comply with CPR Part 35 and Practice Direction 35. If you choose to instruct an expert witness, you should make sure that you explain this.

[echat11]

Just to add, Experts charge hourly for travelling to your home.

So obviously an expert near you cuts down the costs, also do a bit of negotiation with costs.

[Iva]

Thank you for your message. Originally we didn't have permission to rely on expert evidence but after the preliminary hearing the judge ordered to appoint a single expert and capped the fees at £400. This was unrealistic because the surveyors charge £120ph +VAT the cheapest and I've received replies from some to say they believe it'll take around 10-15 hours to complete the report. It's ok to visit our home but it's been all fixed so they will not really see anything. That's why they have to rely on photographic evidence.
What strikes me is how the judge capped the fees at £400 and when neither myself nor the opponent could find anyone in that price range the judge picked the cheapest one who was found by the opponent and increased the cap to the price of this surveyor. I did say this isn't feasible or reasonable given the sum I'm claiming but the judge wants me to provide surveyors details who I want to use. They all charge the same and above so I'm not getting anywhere with the court understanding where I'm coming from.

Do you know what will happen if we turn up to the hearing in October without having any report done? Will we be penalised for not following order? Thanks

[atticus]

See my first post above. If you do not have expert evidence, you may not be able to prove your case.

[echat11]

Thank you for your message. Originally we didn't have permission to rely on expert evidence but after the preliminary hearing the judge ordered to appoint a single expert and capped the fees at £400. This was unrealistic because the surveyors charge £120ph +VAT the cheapest and I've received replies from some to say they believe it'll take around 10-15 hours to complete the report. It's ok to visit our home but it's been all fixed so they will not really see anything. That's why they have to rely on photographic evidence.
What strikes me is how the judge capped the fees at £400 and when neither myself nor the opponent could find anyone in that price range the judge picked the cheapest one who was found by the opponent and increased the cap to the price of this surveyor. I did say this isn't feasible or reasonable given the sum I'm claiming but the judge wants me to provide surveyors details who I want to use. They all charge the same and above so I'm not getting anywhere with the court understanding where I'm coming from.

Do you know what will happen if we turn up to the hearing in October without having any report done? Will we be penalised for not following order? Thanks

They don't have to come out to the premises, they will have photographic evidence, 10 - 15 hours is ridiculous. Send emails see what comes back, don't get stranded with the judge, existing quotes.