Civil Disputes

Different time limits for bringing Court proceedings apply to different types of case. If you have been injured as a result of an accident or medical mistake the claim must be brought within 3 years of the date upon which you had the necessary knowledge to bring a claim. This is not always clear cut. We will advise you on the correct date by which your claim must be issued in the Court. If you were under 18 at the time of the accident the 3 year period does not begin to run until you become 18.

If your claim is based on an agreement (“contract”) you must start Court proceedings within 6 years of the date of the breach of that contract. In certain circumstances – where the contract was written as a Deed – this period is extended to 12 years.

If you are alleging fault (“negligence”) on the part of your opponent proceedings must be issued within 6 years of the date of the negligence alleged.

A Statement of Truth must be added to the end of:-

1. a Claim Form
2. a Particulars of Claim
3. a Defence and Counterclaim
4. an application on Notice
5. a Witness Statement

The statement which normally reads “I believe that the facts stated in this [document] are true” must be signed by you.

The purpose of a Statement of Truth is to ensure that tentative and spurious claims and defences do not delay or prevent the fair and speedy resolution of claims.

In addition to the amount that you are owed you can claim:-

1. Interest at 8% per year or such higher rate as may be set out in your contract. If you want to claim interest it must be included in the Claim Form. If you are running a business you may be able to claim a higher rate of interest under the provisions of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998.
2. The Court fee

If your claim is successful you will also be able to claim your travel expenses and loss of earnings for attending any Court hearing. You will also be able to claim travel expenses and lost earnings for any witnesses who attend Court on your behalf. The amount you can claim for lost earnings is restricted in small claims to £95.00.

You may also be able to claim for any expert report fees obtained to support your claim. The amount you can claim is restricted in small claims to £750.00 per expert.

If your claim is for more than £10,000 (£1,000 in personal injury cases) you can also recover a contribution towards your legal costs. This contribution will either be “fixed” if you obtain a judgement in default or “assessed” if your case is dealt with at a Court hearing.

Although legal costs are not normally recoverable in small claims the Court has power to award costs where one party has behaved unreasonably by:

• not complying with Court protocols which exist for certain types of cases;
• refusing to negotiate;
• not co-operating with Court directions or orders;
• making unnecessary applications.

You can claim interest whether your claim is for a fixed amount or an unspecified amount. The present rate is 8% per year from the date upon which you should have received your money from the other party. You should calculate the daily rate of interest and show this in your Particulars of Claim so that after the final hearing the total amount of interest due to you can be calculated. To find the daily rate of interest simply multiply the amount of your claim by 8%, divide by 365 and multiply that figure by the number of days since the money should have been paid to you.

If you are running a small business i.e. employing 50 or less staff you may wish to take advantage of the Late payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998. This gives small businesses the right to claim a higher rate of interest on commercial debts which are paid late.

All businesses (not just small ones) and the public sector are able to claim late payment interest against all other businesses and the public sector.

A commercial debt is a debt which results from an agreement made between 2 businesses for the supply of goods or services.

If however, the agreement provides for interest at a particular rate on an overdue payment this will usually override the legal right to “late payment interest”.

If the agreement does not specify a rate of interest “late payment interest” becomes due if a debt remains outstanding after any agreed credit period ends.

If the agreement does not provide for a specific rate of interest or any agreed credit period “late payment interest” accrues on payments outstanding for more than 30 calendar days after:

• the date of the invoice
• the date of delivery of the goods or
• the date of performance of the service

whichever is the later.

The claim for “late payment interest” must be included in your Claim Form. It is calculated at the rate of the Bank of England Base Rate plus 8% per year.

The Court will send a copy of your Claim Form and “Response Pack” to the other party by First Class post. The Court will also send you a Notice of Issue (Form N205) confirming the date by which the other party must respond.

A number of things may follow:

• First, the Defendant may have moved address. In this case, the Court will tell you that the Claim Form has not been served and how you can take steps to serve it yourself. The Summons must be served on the other party within 4 months of the date upon which it was issued or longer if the defendant is abroad.
• Secondly, the Defendant may ignore the Claim Form – see “How do I deal with a Defence”.
• Thirdly, the Defendant may admit the whole or part of your claim – see “How do I deal with a Defence”.

Fourthly, the Defendant may dispute or “defend” the whole or part of your claim – see “How do I deal with a Defence”.

1. If the Debtor does not reply to the Claim Form by the date notified to you in the Notice of Issue and you have claimed a specific amount of money you can ask the Court to enter judgement against the Debtor. You must complete Form N30 and send it to the Court who will fix the amount and time within which the Debtor has to pay your claim.
2. If you did not specify an amount of money in your Claim Form and the Debtor does not reply by the time stipulated in the Notice of Issue you must complete Form N205B and return it to the Court with a request for judgement in Form N227. The Judge will then consider the case and decide whether a Court hearing is necessary and what further information he needs to decide how much you should receive.
3. The Judge will issue an Order setting out the information that he needs and the time within which it must be provided. He may also fix a hearing called “disposal hearing” which you must attend.
4. The Debtor may dispute all or part of your claim.

If he or she needs extra time to reply to your claim a Form N9 (Acknowledgement of Service) can be filed which extends the time for reply to 28 days from the date upon which the Claim Form was served on him. The Court will tell you if an Acknowledgement of Service is filed and the date upon which a Defence must also be filed.

The Court will tell you when a Defence has been filed. At the same time, the Court will send you and the Debtor a Form N150 (Allocation Questionnaire) and Form N152 (Notice of Defence).

If the Defendant admits only part of your claim the Court will send you a Form N225A which asks you to tell the Court whether you agree with what is being said.

If you do not accept the part admission the claim will proceed as a defended one.

If you accept what the Debtor says you can ask the Court to enter judgement for the agreed amount.

If you agree with what the Debtor is saying about the amount but not his or her proposal for payment you can ask the Court to fix a different rate of payment by returning the completed form N225A to the Court.

Disclosure and inspection is the process of showing the other party the documents that you rely on in support of your claim. Under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, you are required to disclose those documents which:-

1. support your claim;
2. undermine or oppose your claim;
3. support the other party’s claim.

You must make a reasonable search for these documents. What is reasonable depends on:-

1. the number of documents involved;
2. the nature and complexity of your claim;
3. the difficulty or expense of finding the documents and the relevance of the documents to your claim.

You should list the documents that you intend to disclose on Form N265.

Once you and the other party have exchanged Lists of Documents you can ask for copies of any documents that you have not previously seen but you will have to pay the copying charges. This is known as “inspection”.

If the claim is for less than £10,000 (or for personal injury or housing repair for less than £1,000) it will normally be allocated to the “Small Claims Track” or “Small Claims Court”.

The Small Claims Court is that part of the County Court designed to enable you to deal with small value cases yourself without the assistance of a solicitor.

The advantages of the Small Claims Court are:-

1. The Judge will adopt a simple and informal procedure at the hearing
2. Legal costs are not normally recoverable from the unsuccessful party
3. Court fees are recoverable
4. Lost earnings of up to £95 per day are recoverable for you and your witnesses
5. Expert fees of up to £750.00 per expert for attending Court are recoverable
6. The case proceeds to an early hearing with limited exchange of documents.
7. The case can be dealt with without a hearing
8. The right of Appeal is limited to mistakes of law by the Judge or where a “serious irregularity” has occurred.

The Small Claims Track is intended to be a quick and cheap way of resolving smaller claims.

The Fast Track is for cases that a Judge considers can be disposed of in a single day of Court time (5 hours). It is for cases valued at between £10,000 -£25,000 (£1,000 – £25,000 in personal injury claims).

If a case is allocated to the Fast Track the Court will issue “directions” for the conduct of the claim leading up to a hearing. The Court aims to hear cases within around 30 weeks.

The standard directions issued by the Court relate to limited or “standard” disclosure and inspection of documents, the exchange of witness statements, the exchange of expert reports and the filing of Listing Questionnaires. These directions will vary slightly from Court to Court and depending upon the type of case.

All directions fixing a date and time by which various steps are to be taken must be strictly complied with.

In Fast Track cases, legal costs and Court fees are recoverable from the unsuccessful party although the recoverable trial costs are limited.

The Multi track is for the more complicated cases which:-

• have a value in excess of £25,000
• are worth less than £25,000 but are particularly complex
• require more than “standard” disclosure
• require oral expert evidence at the trial

From time to time the Court, particularly in Multi track cases, the Judge may fix a “Case Management Conference” which is an informal meeting of the parties and the Judge to review the progress of the case. At the conference, the Judge will want to know:-

• what steps have been taken to prepare the case for trial;
• whether previous directions have been complied with;
• whether any problems have arisen over disclosure or delay in obtaining evidence;
• whether any parts of the case can be agreed;
• what costs are being incurred by both parties;
• what further directions are required to make the case ready for a final hearing.

These days such conferences are often conducted over the telephone with the court.

Small claims are usually dealt with within 4 to 5 months of the issue of proceedings. Much depends upon whether Court Orders are complied with promptly and how busy the Court is at any one time.

Fast track claims are usually dealt with between 9 and 12 months of issue.

Multi track cases, particularly personal injury claims which require settled medical evidence to be obtained may last for between 2 and 3 years.

1. Application for summary judgement
2. Judgement in default
3. Resolving a Specific Issue
4. Striking out a claim or Defence

There are a number of short cuts which may be available to shorten the length of your case. Making them is not straightforward and may have adverse costs implications if you take the other party to Court prematurely and are unsuccessful. You should always obtain legal advice before taking one of the following short cuts:-

1. Application for summary judgement

This is now also available in the small claims court.

An application for summary judgement can be made if you believe as a Claimant that the Debtor has no real prospect of successfully defending the claim or as a Debtor that the Claimant has no real prospect of succeeding with his claim.

To apply for summary judgement you must obtain and complete Form N244 from the Court. You should also prepare a statement setting out why you think the other party will lose. You must pay a fee of £255.00. You must send a copy of your application and statement to the Court and to the other party not less than 7 days before any hearing fixed to decide the issue.

At the hearing of your application the Court can:-

• enter judgement for you;
• strike out the other party’s claim;
• make an order that the other party pays an amount of money into Court as a precondition for carrying on;
• dismiss your claim.

If you think that you may be able to apply for summary judgement contact us for further information.

2. Judgement in default

If the other party does not return the Acknowledgement of Service form or a Defence within the time specified on the Notice of Issue you can apply for judgement in default by completing and returning Form N225 or N227 to the Court (depending upon whether you are claiming a specified or unspecified amount).

If the other party admits part or all of your claim you can enter judgment for the amount that is admitted.

You cannot obtain judgement in default if your claim is:-

• for the delivery of goods which are subject to a Consumer Credit Act 1974 agreement;
• money secured by a mortgage;
• a probate case;
• a Specific Issue claim known as a “Part 8” procedure.

3. Resolving a Specific Issue

If you think that your case does not involve a major dispute of fact you may be able to use an alternative procedure known as the “Part 8 Procedure”.

This is appropriate where:-

• there is a specific problem that you want the Court to consider before you start proceedings or
• you want an order for disclosure of medical records before starting proceedings for personal injury.

You will need to file Form N208 with the Court and pay a fee. Although the other party must acknowledge the Part 8 Claim form no Defence is filed – the Court instead fixes a hearing date to consider the issue that you wish to have resolved.

4. Striking out a claim or Defence

If you think that the other party’s Statement of Case is insufficiently argued (a bare denial), irrelevant, without foundation or downright rude, you can ask the Court to strike it out.

You will need to file an application Form 244 together with a statement setting out the reasons why you consider the claim or Defence should be struck out. You will need to pay a fee of £255.00.

The Court will fix a hearing at which the Judge will consider your application and anything that the other party has to say in reply.

In addition to striking out a claim or Defence if one or other party requests it, the Judge also has power to strike out “of his own motion” i.e. himself just by reading the papers.

County Courts are often part of larger Court complexes but in the smaller towns can be hidden away above shoe shops! If in doubt telephone the Court in advance of the hearing to obtain instructions and leave yourself plenty of time to get to Court on the day.

Click here for the address and telephone number of your County Court.

There will usually be a hearing which you and the other party will have to attend. If you do not attend without good reason the Judge can deal with the case in your absence and strike it out.

If a Judge believes on reading a Defence filed to your claim that he can deal with the case “on paper” he will notify you and the other party and ask for observations. He is not bound to fix a hearing.

Do not panic! Remember that solicitor’s costs are only recoverable from the other party if your claim exceeds £10,000 (£1,000 for personal injury and housing repair cases). This is a deliberate attempt to encourage people to settle their disputes without having legal representation.

If you have dealt with the case on your own so far there is no reason why you should not be able to deal with a small claims hearing without a solicitor. The whole point of the small claims track is to provide a cheap and speedy resolution of claims. You will not be prejudiced or disadvantaged if you do not have a solicitor present.

If your case is proceeding on the fast track or multi track you should consult a solicitor and should consider being represented by a solicitor at the final hearing.

This is because the fast track and multi track trial hearings are much more formal and strict rules of evidence will be applied. In addition, the sums involved on both the fast track and multi track cases justify the involvement of a solicitor. This is reflected in the fact that legal costs are recoverable from the other party in those cases.

If you have a particular disability which makes going to Court or making yourself heard or understood difficult you should contact the Court where the hearing will take place, in advance.

On the day of the hearing you should remind the Court Usher of your disability so that he or she can forewarn the Judge. For further information, you can contact the Court Service Disability Helpline on 0800 358 3506 during normal weekday hours. Calls are free.

If you are deaf or hard of hearing you can use the minicom service on 0191 478 1476.

If a judgement is made in your favour the Judge will stipulate the time within which the amount awarded to you has to be paid.

If the money is not paid within that time you will have to take steps to enforce the judgement Refer to the section entitled “enforcing a claim” for further details.

Many people shy away from going to a Court as a witness for someone else. This is usually because of time pressures or “not wanting to be involved”.

If you are concerned about having to attend Court either in the High Court or the County Court you can obtain a leaflet form EX341 from your local County Court which sets out in detail your rights and obligations.

If you receive a Witness Summons to attend Court do not ignore it. You could be fined for “contempt”.