2. Civil Claims Flashcards
Limitation period for bringing a claim for personal injury
The claimant must bring the claim within 3 years of the latest of:
(a) The date when the cause of action accrued; or
(b) The date of knowledge of the personal injury
Limitation period for bringing a claim for a fatal accident
The time limits on a claim are that:
(a) The claim cannot be brought if the person injured could no longer bring a claim
(b) The claim cannot be brought after 3 years from the later of:
(i) Date of death;
(ii) The date of knowledge of the dependent
‘Date of Knowledge’: Date of knowing that….
(a) That the injury was significant;
(b) That it was attributable (at least in part) to the alleged wrongdoing;
(c) The identity of the defendant;
(d) If it is alleged that the wrongdoing was by someone other than the defendant, the identity of that person & the additional facts supporting bringing the claim against the defendant.
Limitation period for negligence claims (not personal injury)
WHICHEVER IS LATER
(a) Six years from when the cause of action accrued; or
(b) Three years from when he had the requisite;
(i) Knowledge; and
(ii) Right to bring a claim
Long-stop limitation date for negligence actions
Limitation period for negligent is subject to a long-stop limitation date of 15 years from the date of the latest negligent act / omission which caused all or part of the damage.
Limitation period for enforcing a judgement
An action to enforce a judgment cannot be brought after 6 years from when the judgment became enforceable, nor can interest be recovered after that period.
Limitation period where individual ‘under a disability’ - limitation period starts to run from when disability ends and is:
(a) 2 years in relation to contribution claims;
(b) 3 years in relation to personal injury or fatal accident claims; and
(c) 6 years in most other cases
Which individuals are ‘under a disability’ for limitation purposes
- Minors
- Those who lack mental capacity to conduct proceedings
Limitation period for claims based on fraud / concealment / mistake:
Where a claim is:
(a) Based on fraud, or;
(b) Any fact relevant to the cause of action has been deliberately concealed by the defendant; or
(c) The action is for relief from the consequences of a mistake; then
Limitation does not start to run until the claimant discovered the fraud, concealment or mistake.
First step to starting a claim
Where there is no relevant pre-action protocol the parties should exchange correspondence and information to comply with the objectives in the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct
- Send a letter of claim and wait for a response
- D should respond within 14 days for a straightforward claim or within 3 months for a complex one
- Personal injury: defendant should acknowledge letter within 21 days and send full letter of response within 3 months of acknowledgement
If one party’s conduct causes mediation to fail (ie. they withdraw) what may happen?
One party may be ordered to pay or contribute towards the other party’s costs if it can be established by way of admissible evidence that its conduct caused mediation to fail where otherwise the mediation would have had a reasonable prospect of succeeding.
When can a claimant serve a claim form via email?
the claimant will need to apply to the court for an order permitting it to serve by an alternative method. As part of this application, the claimant will need to demonstrate that the claim form will likely reach the defendant.
In a sale of goods case, which country will have jurisdiction (if the location of dispatch and delivery are different)
The country of delivery
How long does a claimant have from receiving a part admission to decide whether they accept or reject it?
14 days
If a defendant wants to rely on experts in formulating their defence document (in reply to the statements of case), where should they attach the expert’s report?
No where, they need permission from the court to use expert evidence
