State challenges €2.5m bill for autism cases

The State has complained before a High Court Taxing Master that a €2.5 million bill from solicitors who took High Court cases seeking appropriate education for six autistic children is excessive.

However, Taxing Master Charles Moran was told the bill submitted by solicitors Ernest Cantillon and Company, Cork, was reasonable, given the detailed work involved in the cases. Mr Paul Behan, legal costs accountant, for Cantillons, also argued the reason the cases had to be taken, and large costs incurred, was wholly due to the State's failure to provide appropriate education for the children.

Mr John Fitzpatrick, legal costs accountant for the State, responded that it is the State's view that the costs involved in autism cases should be falling and not increasing. Although the legal issues had been distilled, costs were continuing to rise, he said.

Mr Behan replied that costs were rising because the State was producing more technical defences in the cases and calling on more witnesses.

This involved the plaintiffs having to marshall additional expert and other evidence with consequent additional costs, he said.

Taxing Master Moran yesterday began dealing with six bills of costs, totalling some €2.5 million, submitted by Cantillons in relation to six children whose cases were dealt with by the High Court during the years 2000 and 2001.

The solicitors' instruction fees submitted in each case range from €115,000 to €285,000, with the total instruction fees for all six cases amounting to €1.46 million. The total fees sought for senior counsel in all six cases amount to some €435,940.

Other fees sought relate to costs incurred by expert witnesses, including clinical and educational psychologists and experts on autism, in some cases coming from the UK, who carried out assessments of the children and their then educational provision and other alternative provision.

Mr Behan referred to some 20 large boxes of documents accumulated for the cases, all of which he said raised serious and important constitutional issues. In all six cases, orders had been made against the State, he pointed out.

The State defendants were "the authors of their own misfortune", he said. They had put these children in a situation where they had to take legal action to get their constitutional rights and they should have to pay for that.

Mr Fitzpatrick referred to other autism cases where the costs issues had been settled between the parties. He mentioned a number of cases where the instruction fees sought were about €165,000 and were reduced to €132,300. He said briefing fees for senior counsel were sought at some €38,000 each and this was reduced at an agreed €25,394 per senior counsel.

Submissions on one bill of costs concluded yesterday and Master Moran said he would reserve his decision. He added he would read some of the substantial documents over the next few days and would decide next Monday how the other five bills should be addressed.