EQUILLORE - MEDIA RELEASE - 5 March 2008

Equillore's Taxation Service for all legal practitioners

Equillore is cutting through the congestion of the courts by broadening its Taxation Service to all practitioners, regardless of whether a matter was heard in Equillore or not.

An accredited database of taxing masters is available to render service under the auspices of Equillore. In order for this service to work, practitioners are asked to embrace the principles of reciprocity.

'At any given time a practitioner may either be representing the party wanting the early settlement of their bill or that party resorting to delaying tactics in the settlement of a bill,' says Wahida Parker, CEO of Equillore.

'Knowing that at times you may be on either side of the fence, would it not be prudent to submit to a process that favours the settlement of costs orders ensuring that justice prevails regardless of whom you are representing?,' asks Parker.

'What we are hoping to achieve is to broaden the current code of good practice that prevails amongst practitioners by obtaining consent in principle through signing a form indicating the firm’s intention to participate in our taxation process,' she added.

Equillore’s Taxation Service provides quick and cost effective taxations. The process is based on the principles of settlement, and provides a final and enforceable solution. This means that participants no longer have to wait for months to have bills of costs taxed.
How it works:

• A bill of costs is referred to Equillore for taxation once the opponent has had a reasonable opportunity to establish whether there are any items in dispute.
• Once Equillore has received the referral a date is allocated and a taxing referee appointed to determine the bill..
• Disputed bills of cost will be set down for taxations within 10 days from date of referral. Taxation services will be provided by qualified, experienced professionals
• Once the bill is determined the opposing attorney has 5 days in which to accept the determination. Should there be no indication within this period that the bill will be taken on review, it is deemed settled.
• Equillore then delivers the allocatur to the appropriate court’s taxing master for stamping in order that an attorney can execute thereon.
• All costs are costs in the cause and can be recovered.

The taxation service is affordable with a basic referral fee of R350. Postponement/cancellation/settlement fee within five days of date costs R200 while the services of a taxing master and the cost of facilities is R150 per quarter hour.

'On this basis a two hour taxation with no postponement/cancellations will cost a mere R1 550.00 (excluding VAT) in comparison to the commercial loss in interest which your client sustains while waiting for a taxation date elsewhere. This commercial loss can run up to R850 per taxable R10 0000 over a 7 month waiting period. Given that a High Court bill of cost can be anything from R80 000 to R100 000 this is a huge loss in working capital,' says Parker.

Equillore’s Taxation Service is based on settlement principles. This implies that both parties have to consent to the process. Legal firms can easily obtain consent from their own clients by including a clause in their standard mandate agreements or alternatively by entering into an agreement with the opposing party before the matter is heard, stating that the unsuccessful party will not withhold their consent.

The in principle commitment to participate, provides a basis for participating firms to refer matters for taxation against other participating firms. In any particular case, where a client specifically instructs a firm not to use the Taxation Service, the matter can still be withdrawn.

Ends