News Group Newspapers is facing 46 new claims in the phone-hacking civil litigation.
Hugh Tomlinson QC told Mr Justice Vos at London’s High Court that there are, in total, 4,791 potential victims of whom the police had contacted 1,892, and 1,174 were likely to be victims.
The judge is deciding a number of issues concerned with the second wave of the litigation ahead of a February 2013 trial date for any cases that do not settle.
He urged the importance of budgeting after hearing that £10 million in costs had so far been incurred in individual cases.
He said it was “unbelievable” that 55 different firms of solicitors were representing 100 claimants and said it would be appropriate to encourage claimants to instruct lawyers who already had specialist knowledge of the litigation.
He commented that there would be no sympathy for “outrageous” cost estimates.
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