Validity of N260

Hi
ive been given the name of Charles who specialises in costs and I have a question.

I have taken my ex husband to court to attempt to get a Consent Order set aside. We've had three hearings. The last two were on 27.11.23 and 29.11.23.

I have been ordered to pay costs by the judge at both hearings.

when looking through the documents I note that both N260s for the hearings are dated 27.11.23. The final hearing of the 29.11.23 has wrong date on N260.

do I still have to pay as I'm unsure if it's valid N260 or not.

many thanks

Ollie

Hi

It's unusual to have two hearings so close together unless the one on the 27th overran and continued on the 29th.

The purpose of the N260 is to allow the court to conduct a summary assessment of costs at the end of the hearing. If the court did that and specified an amount that you have to pay then the forms will be seen as valid.

If the judge did not assess the costs then it is likely that an order was made that costs are to be assessed if not agreed in which case you can ignore the N260s as there will a different procedure.

Charles

Thanks Charles. The hearing on 27th was to consider a revised witness statement before the final hearing on 29th.

Thanks for your advice.