QOCS CAP recoverable costs: If the claimant recovers some damages but must pay some or all of the defendant's costs, what is the typical arrangement?

• A. The claimant can recover unlimited costs
• B. The cap does not apply in any case
• C. The claimant loses all costs
• D. The claimant recovers some damages and costs up to the end of the relevant period, but is ordered to pay the defendant's costs from the end of the relevant period until trial, with the total recovered capped.

Answer: (B)

The key idea is that QOCS protects claimants from paying the defendant’s costs out of their own pocket, but those costs are not unlimited. When damages are awarded, the defendant’s costs are payable only to the extent there are damages to cover them. In practice this means the claimant’s liability for the defendant’s costs is capped at the amount of damages recovered. If the defendant’s costs exceed the damages, the claimant does not pay the shortfall—the excess costs are not recoverable. There are exceptions where QOCS protection doesn’t apply (for example, if the claimant has acted dishonestly). So, the typical arrangement is that recoverable costs are limited to the damages actually recovered, with any shortfall not being made up beyond that cap.