Case Management

Question 1

Which of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) contains the overriding objective of civil litigation?

Answer 1

Rule 1.1

Question 2

The judge sets the procedural steps and the timetable for a civil claim to follow with no assistance from the litigating parties or their representatives. True or false?

Answer 2

False. A judge makes the final decision, but parties are expected to agree or propose a timetable.

Question 3

What are the three tracks to which a claim can be allocated in civil proceedings?

Answer 3

Small claims, fast track and multi-track

Question 4

What is a case management conference?

Answer 4

A meeting between judge and the parties to highlight significant issues in the case, and decide upon directions and timetable

Question 5

If a party fails to comply with a deadline in a court order, they cannot avoid being subject to a penalty from the court. True or false.

Answer 5

False, a party can make an application under CPR 3.9 asking court for relief from sanctions.

Question 6

What is the overriding objective?

Answer 6

A principle that guides the civil courts in any action they take, and enables the courts to deal with cases justly and at a proportionate cost.

Question 7

What does the court not take into account when calculating the value of a claim at the allocation stage?

Answer 7

Any interest, legal costs or contributory negligence.

Question 8

What is the value for a small claims track allocation?

Answer 8

Less than £10,000 for any claim, except for damages for personal injuries, which are limited to a maximum of £1,000

Question 9

What is the monetary value for claims under fast track?

Answer 9

Less than £25,000

Question 10

What are the requirements, other than value, for a claim to stay in the fast track?

Answer 10

Trial lasting maximum 1 day, and one expert per party in an expert field.

Question 11

When to claims go to multi-track?

Answer 11

When they don’t fit in either small claims track or fast track

Question 12

Can a track be changes once a claim has been allocated to it?

Answer 12

Yes, where there has been a change in circumstances

Question 13

Suggested timetable under Practice Direction (fast track) for disclosure?

Answer 13

4 weeks of parties filing the directions questionnaire

Question 14

Suggested timetable under Practice Direction (fast track) for inspection?

Answer 14

6 weeks of parties filing the directions questionnaire

Question 15

Suggested timetable under Practice Direction (fast track) for exchange of witness statements?

Answer 15

10 weeks of parties filing the directions questionnaire

Question 16

Suggested timetable under Practice Direction (fast track) for exchange of expert reports

Answer 16

14 weeks of parties filing the directions questionnaire

Question 17

Suggested timetable under Practice Direction (fast track) for filing of pre-trial checklist?

Answer 17

22 weeks of parties filing the directions questionnaire

Question 18

Suggested timetable under Practice Direction (fast track) for trial to take place?

Answer 18

30 weeks of parties filing the directions questionnaire

Question 19

What can a party do if it fails to comply with a case management direction?

Answer 19

Try to agree an extension with the other representative of up to 28 days, or make an application to the court.

Question 20

A claimant has commenced proceedings against a defendant for the sum of £9,000. The amount relates to the claimant supplying a
range of bedroom furniture to the defendant, for which the defendant has failed to make any payment. The defendant argues that the
claimant’s sales representative verbally agreed to deliver and build the bedroom furniture for him. The claimant claims that the contract
was for delivery only. The written contract is silent on this point. The claimant has instructed their solicitors to take witness statement
evidence from 16 employees who claim that they witnessed the verbal exchange between the sales representative and the defendant,
and that they are to insist that those employees be allowed to give oral evidence at trial.

Are the company’s instructions to their solicitors likely to be consistent with the overriding objective in the Civil Procedure
Rules 1998 (CPR)?

A. No, because the overriding objective requires parties to assist the court in dealing with cases proportionately.

B. Yes, because the overriding objective requires parties to assist the court in dealing with cases proportionately.

C. No, because the overriding objective requires parties to assist the court in dealing with cases justly.

D. Yes, because the overriding objective requires parties to assist the court in dealing with cases justly.

E. Yes, because the overriding objective only applies to the court, not the parties to litigation.

Answer 20

A. No, because the overriding objective requires parties to assist the court in dealing with cases proportionately.

Question 21

A claimant commences proceedings against a defendant for the sum of £27,000. The amount relates to non-payment of an invoice for
the building of an orangery at the back of the defendant’s customer’s house. The defendant argues that the work carried out is
defective, as the floor is not level and the window on the north side leaks in heavy rain. The claimant maintains that the building is
sound and that full payment is due. The parties have jointly agreed to instruct one single joint expert to provide a written report
addressing the issues raised. The issue of allocation falls to the court to consider.

Which of the following best represents the position that the court will likely adopt when allocating the claim to an appropriate
track?

A. The court is likely to allocate the claim to the fast track on the basis of its complexity.

B. The court is likely to allocate the claim to the multi-track on the basis of its value.

C. The court is likely to allocate the claim to the multi-track on the basis of its value and complexity.

D. The court is likely to allocate the claim to the fast track on the basis that the trial is unlikely to last more than one day and there is
only one expert.

E. The court is likely to allocate the claim to the multi-track because even though the trial is unlikely to last more than one day, its value
is too high to be considered in the fast track.

Answer 21

D. The court is likely to allocate the claim to the fast track on the basis that the trial is unlikely to last more than one day and there is
only one expert.

(Only £2k above bracket, and it is not a complex case, therefore fast track)

Question 22

A claim has been allocated to the multi-track and the court has fixed a date for a case management conference (CMC). Solicitors on
behalf of both the claimant and defendant have agreed directions on most issues, but are unable to agree a suitable direction on the

scope and timing of disclosure of documents.

Which of the following statements best reflects the likely approach of the court during the CMC?

A. The court will adjourn the CMC and expect the parties to agree the scope and suitable dates for disclosure of documents by a fixed
date, whereupon they will be required to return to the court for approval.

B. The court will adjourn the CMC and expect the parties to agree the scope and suitable dates for disclosure of documents by a fixed
date, whereupon they will be required to return to the court for approval. The court will also penalise the parties for failing to agree a
suitable direction between themselves.

C. The court will make an order relating to the directions agreed upon between the claimant’s and defendant’s solicitors, but will
schedule a further CMC to discuss the appropriate directions for disclosure.

D. The court will consider the arguments by the parties following their submission of their own proposals for directions to the court. The
court will then make an order relating to disclosure of documents, as well as the remaining directions, at the CMC. If this needs to
be amended, then it will be considered further on application by one of the parties.

E. The court will consider the arguments by the parties following their submission of their own proposals for directions to the court. The
court will then make an order relating to disclosure of documents, as well as the remaining directions, at the CMC. There will be no
scope to amend this order.

Answer 22

D. The court will consider the arguments by the parties following their submission of their own proposals for directions to the court. The
court will then make an order relating to disclosure of documents, as well as the remaining directions, at the CMC. If this needs to
be amended, then it will be considered further on application by one of the parties.

Question 23

A school makes a claim against a contractor for non-completion of roofing works. Both sides are represented. The claim is valued at
£8,500. The court allocates the claim to the small claims track. The defendant indicates that they intend to defend the whole claim. In
order to prove the claim, the claimant school seeks to rely on the oral evidence of four witnesses, all of whom witnessed the material
facts but none of whom came forward when the claim was originally issued. The claimant’s solicitors apply to the court to reallocate the
claim. The defendant objects to the application.

Which of the following best reflects the court’s likely approach to the claimant’s application?

A. The court would be likely to allow the application and reallocate the claim to the fast track. The court is required to consider all of the
relevant circumstances when allocating the claim, not just the financial value. Four witnesses would most likely mean that a full-day hearing would be required.

B. The court would be likely to allow the application and reallocate the claim to the fast track. The court is required to consider the likely
complexity of the matter, and four witnesses would mean that the issue would become evidentially too complex to be heard in the small claims track.

C. The court would be likely to refuse the application and the claim would remain in the small claims track. Value is the primary
consideration of the court, and this has not changed.

D. The court would be likely to refuse the application and the claim would remain in the small claims track. The four witnesses should
have been disclosed when the claim was originally allocated.

E. The court would be likely to refuse the application and the claim would remain in the small claims track. Even with four witnesses, it
is unlikely that the trial will last more than half a day.

Answer 23

A. The court would be likely to allow the application and reallocate the claim to the fast track. The court is required to consider all of the
relevant circumstances when allocating the claim, not just the financial value. Four witnesses would most likely mean that a full-day hearing would be required.

Question 24

A solicitor is acting for a client in a claim. As part of the directions, the court has ordered that witness statements need to be exchanged
no later than 4.00 p.m. on 20 October. The solicitor drafts all of the witness statements and has them signed by the witnesses by 15
October, but forgets to deliver the copies by the deadline. The defendant’s witness statements are delivered by hand to the solicitor’s
reception at 3.58 p.m. on 20 October, and the receptionist informs the solicitor at 4.05 p.m. In response, the solicitor hand-delivers the
claimant’s witness statement to the defendant at 4.45 p.m. He immediately telephones the defendant’s representative to propose an
extension under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR), but this is rejected. The claimant’s solicitor therefore issues an application to
the court for relief from sanctions under the CPR on 21 October.

Which of the following statements best represents the position of the court in response to the application?

A. The court is likely to reject the claimant’s application and refuse relief. The court’s role is to enforce compliance with procedural rules

and directions.

B. The court is likely to grant relief from sanctions on the basis that the breach is neither serious nor significant, but will order the
claimant to pay both the claimant’s and defendant’s costs.

C. The court is likely to grant relief from sanctions on the basis that the breach is neither serious nor significant, but will make a wasted
costs order against the claimant’s solicitor for failure to comply with the court-ordered direction.

D. The court is likely to grant relief from sanctions on the basis that there was good reason for the breach and penalise the defendant’s
solicitor for unreasonably refusing to agree an extension of time.

E. The court is likely to grant relief from sanctions on the basis that there was good reason for the breach, but will insist that both
parties pay their own costs in relation to the application.

Answer 24

C. The court is likely to grant relief from sanctions on the basis that the breach is neither serious nor significant, but will make a wasted
costs order against the claimant’s solicitor for failure to comply with the court-ordered direction.