Barking and Dagenham Council has successfully appealed an application brought by Antony Hodari Solicitors, which a judge described as “the most misconceived application ever.”

In a damning judgment at the County Court at Clerkenwell and Shoreditch, the council was awarded £18,052 in costs after the court ruled that the Manchester-based firm’s attempt to enforce a Magistrates’ Court award was both unlawful and factually baseless. The judge criticised the firm’s conduct as “so far out of the norm” that indemnity costs were justified.

This appeal follows an earlier case in January 2024, when the council obtained wasted costs of £7,576 against Antony Hodari Solicitors after the firm wrongly prosecuted the Council in a statutory nuisance claim. In that case, the solicitors alleged the Council was a tenant’s landlord despite clear evidence that the property was privately rented and the council had no involvement.

Despite being warned that their enforcement attempt had no legal basis, Antony Hodari Solicitors persisted. The firm sought to enforce the Magistrates’ Court award in the County Court and claim interest, even though payment had been made following a pause pending the Council’s challenge, and there was no legal entitlement to interest on the Magistrates’ award. On appeal, the judge found the application was not only legally misconceived but factually wrong. The witness statement filed by the firm’s fee earner was described as “wholly wrong and misconceived,” and the judge condemned the firm’s failure to disclose key documents until days before the hearing.

The judgment also revealed that Antony Hodari Solicitors admitted to having made “many” similar applications in other cases, raising serious concerns about how much public money may have been wrongly obtained from other local authorities through such unlawful claims.

Councillor Syed Ghani, Cabinet Member for Enforcement and Community Safety, said: “We will always fight cases like this to protect taxpayers’ money and prevent opportunistic claims against the council. While we will meet all our legal obligations to tenants, we will robustly defend against unlawful claims.”

The council warned that claims from “no win, no fee” solicitors can place significant pressure on public finances and stressed its commitment to safeguarding residents and the public purse.