4. Case Management

Question 1

What is Case management?

Answer 1

Case management is undertaken by the Court once the defense is filed.

The court will allocate a track to the claim, which will then prescribe a series of standardized procedure steps alongside a timetable for those steps, such as when witness statements must be filed or when expert reports must be exchanged.

The parties will then present ‘Directions to the Court’ , and the Court will either agree with them and give an order or disagree with them and alter them.

Question 2

What are directions?

Answer 2

Directions are a timetable made by both parties on when they will complete specific procedural steps.

The Civil Procedure rules set out a generic suggested direction and timetables for claims as per the track they have been allocated to. Accordingly parties will base their proposed directions and timetable based on this framework.

The Court will only move away from the generic suggestions if they are justified.

Question 3

What is the importance of the overriding objective, and what is the overriding objective?

Answer 3

The Courts must manage litigation in accordance with the overriding objective, which is to deal with a case justly and at proportinate costs, so far as practaible.

This is done by:

a. Ensuring the parties are on an equal footing

b. Saving expenses 

c. Dealing with the case in ways which are proportionate:
	a. To the amount of money involved
	b. To the importance of the case
	c. To the complexity of the issues and 
	d. To the financial position of each party 

d. Ensuring that it is dealt with expeditiously and fairly

e. Allotting it to an appropriate share of the courts resources, while taking into account the need to allot resource is to other cases and

f. Enforcing compliance with rules, practise directions, and orders.

Question 4

What are the 6 key steps in which the Court is directly involved with managing cases?

Answer 4

The Court is directly involved with the following key steps:

1. Identifying disputed issues at an early stage
2. Deciding how those issues are to be presented and proved
3. Fixing the timetable for the claim to follow
4. Controlling costs
5. Disposing of cases by summary judgment 6. Dealing with matters without the parties having to attend court, and giving directions to ensure the case's progress is efficient.

Question 5

What sort of things will the directions provide dates for?

Answer 5

1. Exchange of witness statements
2. Expert Evidence
3. Discolsure and Inspection.

Question 6

When is a track allocated by the Court?

Answer 6

After the defence is filed.

Question 7

What happens after a track is allocated?

Answer 7

The Court will serve notices on the parties that:

1. States the Track
2. Requires the parties to complete a directions questionare, file it at court, and serve copies on all parties.

Question 8

What are the 4 Tracks?

Answer 8

1. Small Claims
2. Fast Track
3. Intermediate
4. Multi Track

Question 9

What does the court not take into account when calculating the value of the case for track allocation?

Answer 9

Any amount not in dispute, such as:

Intrest

Costs

Contributory Negligence

Question 10

What is the claim and damages values for Small Claims track?

Answer 10

1. Claim Value must be below £10,000
2. In personal injury, damages must be less than £1,000
3. Where residental tenant claiming for repairs and damages, repairs must be less than £1,000 and damages must be less than £1,000.

Question 11

What is the claim value limits for Fast Track?

What is the Time Limit?

What is the expert evidence Limit?

Answer 11

Value-
After 6 April 2009 - £25,000

Before 6 April 2009 - £15,000

Time -

One day trial

Oral Expert Evidence-

Limited to 2 expert fields, one expert per field

Question 12

What are the three criterion for Fast Track?

Answer 12

1. Value
2. Time
3. Expert Evidence

Question 13

What is the Value bands for Intermediate Track?

What is the time limit for Imtermediate Track?

What is the limit on Expert Evidence ?

What are the limits for Expedited Procedure?

Answer 13

Value -

£25,000 - £100,000

Time-

No More than 3 days

Expert Evidence -

Normaly up to 2 per party

Expidited Procedure -

Statement of case limited to 10 pages

Witness Statements limited to 30 Pages

1 Expert Wtiness per party (2 allowed if reasonable and propoirtanate) with each report limited to 20 pages?

Question 14

When is the Multi Track Used?

Answer 14

When the claim does not fit into any other track.

Question 15

What are the values for small claims, fast track, and intermediate track?

Answer 15

1. SC £10,000
2. FT £25,000
3. Intermediate £25,000 - £100,000

Question 16

What are the time limits for trial for fast track and intermediate track?

Answer 16

1. FT - Up to 1 day
2. Intermidate - Up to 3 days.

Question 17

How can the track allocation be changed?

Answer 17

If there has been a change in circustances since the order, the track can be reallocated.

This can be done by:

1 of the parties applying to the court

or by the Court independtley.

Question 18

What is the signifcance of complexity bands?

Answer 18

The band will provide fixed recoverable costs limits.

Question 19

How is the complexity band chosen?

Answer 19

The parties are free to agree a band

However, the court may select another if deemend appropirate.

Question 20

How many complexity bands are there?

Answer 20

4

Question 21

What is complexity band 1 for?

Answer 21

Where 1 issue is in dispute

Where the trial is less than 1 day

Includes:
-PI claims where Liability or quantum is in dispute

-Non PI claims for road traffic

-Defended Debt Claims

Question 22

What is Complexity Band 2 for?

Answer 22

Where there is more than 1 issue in disupute, including personal injury claims where both liability and quantum is in dispute.

Question 23

What is complexity band 3 for?

Answer 23

More complex claims with multiple disputes that are unsuitable for band 2

Includes noise induced hearing loss and other employer liability disease claims.

Question 24

What is complexity band 4 for?

Answer 24

Any claim in the intermediate track which is unusitable for the other bands, such as personal injury claims with serious issues of fact or law.

Question 25

What other 5 factors are relevant to the complexity band assignment?

Answer 25

1. Nature of claim
   
   2. Amount in dispute
   3. Complexity of legal issues involved
   4. Amount of Parties
      Length of litigation process

Question 26

What are the proposed directions for fast track?

Answer 26

1. Discolsure - within 4 weeks
2. Inspection - within 6 weeks
3. Exhcnage of witness statements - within 10 weeks
4. Exchange of Expert reports - within 14 weeks
5. Filing of pretrial checklist - within 22 weeks
6. Trail - within 30 weeks

of the parties filing the directions questionare.

Question 27

Give an example where the court would likley depart from the standard directions for fast track?

Answer 27

Where one party is unrepresented, in line with the overiding objective.

Question 28

What is the standard procedure for directions in the intermediate track?

Answer 28

The parties are required to attempt to agree proposed directions which must deal with:

1. Disclosure of Documents
2. Service of witness statements
3. Expert Evidence
4. Whetehr to fix a pre trial review
5. Listing the case for trial.

The judge will then agree or ammed the directions.

Question 29

What is the standard procedure for directions in the multi track?

Answer 29

The Court will fix either a Case Managament Confrence, or a pre trial review, or both.

This must be attended by legal representatives, and somtimes the client.

Before the CMC the parties must submit either agreed directions or their own directions atleast 7 days before the CMC.

After the CMC the court will issue a set of directions tailerd to that specific matter which will concern the same matters as the fast track AND will also include costs budgets.

Question 30

What happens if the directions timetable is not followed?

Answer 30

Direction deadlines can be extened by up to 28 days if the other party agrees, and it does not put any hearing dates at risk.

If the other party does not agree, or the extension is longer than 28 days an application to the court is required.

A sanction will automatically apply unless the defaulting party obtains releif. In addition, a wasted cost order to the legal representatives can be made if they are responsible for the defult.

Question 31

What are the 6 sanctions the Court can impose if there has been a defult in following the directions timetable?

Answer 31

1. Unless Order

(Most common, allows the party to rectify there defult. ‘Unless x is filed by xx.xx.xx, it cannot be relied upon in court.)

2. Intrest

(Stoping defulting party from claiming intrest, or giving enhanced intrest to innocent party)

3. Payment in Court

(Sum to be paid, to be held by court until conclusion of case)

4. Costs

(Defulting party to pay others costs. Court can also reduce any fixed recoverable costs.)

5. Dissallowing Evidence

(Prevents parties relying on evidence not submitted in time - can be v significant to outcome)

6. Striking out

(Most extreme. Hands victory to other party on proecdual technicallity.)

Question 32

What is relief and what are the guidelines followed by the Court when deciding to grant?

Answer 32

If a party fails to comply with an order imposing a sanction, they must apply to the court for a relief.

A relief will remove the sanction.

The Court will weigh the overriding objective against all the circumstances of the case, and apply the following guidelines:

1. Asses the seriousness or significance of the default. (Usually granting relief for non-serious and non-significant defaults that do not impact ay hearing dates.) 

2. If there is a good reason for the default
3. Consider all circumstances of the case, to enable the court to deal justly with the application.
   Balancing the need for efficiency, proportionate costs, compliance with rules, practice directions and court orders, and the promptness of the application and other breaches committed.

Question 33

If there is a counter claim or other additional claim, how is the value of the claim for case management determined?

Answer 33

The largest claim value will be the claim value.

It will not add or substract claims together.