In the past, directors and shareholders involved in litigation were largely safe from a personal costs liability due to the protection afforded to them by the difficulty posed in ‘piercing’ the corporate veil. That is no longer a safe assumption and all those with an interest in a litigating company and those advising them should be aware of the wider circumstances in which a personal costs order may be made against directors and/or shareholders.
The recent decision in Total Spares v Antares [2006] reflects the growing trend of extending the circumstances in which a non-party costs order may be made under section 51 of the Supreme Court Act 1981.
