Dispute Resolution - The Defendant's Response Flashcards
Time limit to respond
14 days after deemed service of Particulars of Claim
To admit the claim, file and serve a defence or file acknowledgement of service
Admitting the whole claim
Specified sum (e.g. debt): Court issues judgment order
Unspecified sum (e.g. damages): Case is stayed and court will set directions
If defendant is a minor or a protected party the court must approve any admission or offer to pay
Admitting part of the claim
D must file a defence to part still in dispute
Filing a defence
If a defence can be filed within 14 days they may do so and no need to file acknowledgement
If they cannot they must file an acknowledgement of service - important if case is complex
Acknowledgement of Service
If filed within 14 days of particulars of claim, extends deadline to file a defence to 28 days from service of the particulars
If case is complex, defendant may ask claimant for a further 28 days. If not agreed the defendant can still ask the court for more time
Allows defendant to dispute jurisdiction of the court
Calculating Due Date of Defence
Period expressed as a number of days means clear days and the date an event occurred is not included
Counting can only start on a working day
- E.g. defendant has 14 days from the date of deemed service of the particulars of claim, the date of deemed service is not included
If time period ends on weekend or BH, this ends on the next working day
- E.g. if time period for filing defence is on a Saturday, the time period would not end until Monday (if this is not a BH)
Defendant Disputes Court’s Jurisdiction
Court of England and Wales is not appropriate forum for dispute
E.g. defendant believes parties have already agreed contractually to a different forum - such as courts of a different jursidiction or arbitration
Defendant must tick relevant box on Acknowledgement of Service and within 14 days make a written application supported by written evidence
Defence need not be filed if jurisdiction is disputed
If application fails, D must file a defence within 14 days
Default Judgment
Failure to file defence in time
Not permitted to defend claim further
Must pay specified claim amount or damages awarded by the court in an unspecified claim
Setting aside default judgment:
- D must have a real prospect of success; or
- There is some other good reason to set aside
Whilst the CPR uses the word ‘or’ above, in reality D must satisfy both
Court can impose conditions on defendant for set-aside
Neither admiting or denying allegations
Defendant should do this in relation to allegations that are not within their personal knowledge
E.g. if defendant believes causation is speculative it is not advisable to deny this allegation as it is a hypothetical fact and the defendant cannot categorically say that it is incorrect
