Costs awards open to challenge after cap on fees is deemed 'unlawful' by High Court 

Solicitor Barry Sheehan, who took the initial challenge against Cork City Council two years ago, said defendants "were able to adopt this 'deny everything, concede nothing' approach safe in the knowledge there would be no costs penalty for their defendant clients".

Court costs awarded in recent years in Cork are vulnerable to challenge following a High Court ruling, according to the solicitor involved in a landmark case on the issue.

The total figure open to challenge could reach into hundreds of thousands of euro and beyond, and comes after the High Court struck down the scale of costs operated by Cork's County Registrar, saying that Cork City Council had “actively invoked, exploited and endorsed an unlawful system of taxation of costs” drawn up by the Registrar for civil cases at the Circuit Court.