Directions etc.

Question 1

Procedure for Allocation

Allocation = where court decides which TRACK a case will be allocated to

Answer 1

Once defence filed…the court will serve on each party:

A Notice of Proposed Allocation: NPA will:

• specify any matter to be complied with by a specified date
• require parties to file and serve a Directions Questionnaire by a suitable date
• in proposed fast track or multi-track cases, require parties to file propsoed (‘draft’) directions by a specified date; and
• in many cases, require parties to file and serve costs budet.

Court will finally issue a Notice of Allocation, allocating the claim to a track (court does so after parties have filed DQ and normally at the same time as giving directions).

Question 2

Procedure for Directions (in multi-track)

Answer 2

(1) Directions Questionnarire

• a fact finding exercise - setting out client’s position about what they need to get ready for trial.
  For example:
• whether party has conisdered settlement;
• whether party has complied with pre-action protocol
• what type of disclosure needed (what will be included, timeframe, etc.)
• what witnesses of fact client will need, date for exchange of witness statements etc,
• what expert witnesses client will need, what issue of claim, what field, SJE?
• preparations for trial
• the trial itself

(2) Based on the DQ, parties will prepare a draft order for directions (i.e. what they want the court to order!) and try to agree it with other side.
- submit at least 7 days before CMC

(3) Parties will file and serve COSTS BUDGETS
- not necessarily going to be similar - may be that one party has 100,000 documents to disclose, and the other only 1,000.
- need to check however that the other side’s spend is reasonable for what they are trying to do

(4) There will be a CMC - (Case Management Conference)
- proposed directions will be approved or ammended, and issued as a Court Order for Directions
- CMC will be vacated if parties agree 100% as to directions (highly unlikely)

Question 3

Criteria for Allocation

Answer 3

When considering allocation, court applies CPR 26.8 factors:

(a) FINANCIAL VALUE of the claim
(b) nature of remedy sought
(c) likely complexity of facts, law or evidence
(d) number of parties or likely parties
(e) value of any counterclaim
(f) amount of oral evidence requires
(g) importance of claim third parties
(h) views expressed by the parties
(i) circumstances of the parties

SMALL CLAIMS TRACK
Claims< £10,000

FAST TRACK
Claims < £25,000
+ provided trial will last no longer than 5 hours
+ provided there will be only one expert per party in a field with a maximum of two expert fields.

MULTI-TRACK
Claims = or > £25,000