Significance: s.51 non-party costs orders against insurers
Held: a non-party costs order could be made against a liability insurer under the Senior Courts Act 1981 s.51 on the basis that the insurer had become the real defendant to a claim that fell within the cover provided by the insurer, or on the basis that it had intermeddled in a claim that fell outside the scope of such cover in a manner which it could not justify and which had caused the incurring by the claimants of the relevant costs.
Where there was a connection between uninsured claims and claims for which the insurer had provided cover, the legitimate interests of the insurer could justify some involvement by the insurer in decision-making and even funding of the defence of the uninsured claims without exposing the insurer to liability to pay the successful claimant’s costs.