Disputes Flashcards
Limitation periods for:
Tort (not PI)
Contract
PI and Death
Tort - 6 years from date cause of action accrued
Contract - 6 years from the breach (unless contract in deed then 12 years)
PI and death - 3 years from the later of when the incident occurred or the date of knowledge
Definition of without prejudice communications (privilege):
Document whose purpose is a genuine attempt to settle a dispute
Not confidential between parties, just hidden from the court
When is a document OTHER than a claim form deemed served?
Post
Personal delivery
Fax
DX
Other electronic method (e.g. email)
Post - Second day after posting if a business day (if not the day after)
Personal delivery - Effective immediately, if before 4.30pm on a business day, otherwise next business day
Fax - Effective immediately, if before 4.30pm on a business day, otherwise next business day
DX - Effective the second day after left at DX if a business day, if not next business day
Email - Effective immediately, if before 4.30pm on a business day, otherwise next business day [if email has been agreed as a mode of service]
Conditions applicable to questions to experts:
- Qs only put once
- Q generally for purpose of clarifying the report
- Q submitted to expert within 28 days of making report
- Copy of Qs sent to other party
- No time limit for expert to reply unless set by court
- Answers to Qs become part of the report
- If expert does not answer, court can order the party who instructed the expert that they cannot rely on evidence and or cannot recover fees from other party
Key dates for a CMC (or CCMC):
Disclosure - 14 days or more before CMC
Draft directions - 7 days or more before CMC
Disclosure report - 14 days or more before CMC and verified with statement of truth
Budget (H) - 21 days before CCMC
Budget discussion report (R) - 7 days before CCMC
When must you serve POC?
Either with the claim form or within 14 days of service of the claim form
Must be accompanied by response pack
Procedure for inspection:
Party wishing to inspect should send notice of wish to do so to the other side who must allow inspection within 7 days of receipt of notice
Party wishing to inspect can ask for copies as well as/instead of - provided within 7 days of request
What are the 3 parts of a disclosure list?
- “I have control and do not object to inspection”
- “I have control and object to inspection”
- “I no longer have control”
Procedure for application for specific disclosure:
Application notice + draft order + supporting evidence
Application must (i) specify order sought inc. list of docs sought (more specific = more likely to succeed) (ii) be supported by evidence
Main differences with an affidavit as opposed to a witness statement:
Affidavit:
a. in intro - wording “state an oath”
b. has a Jurat - statement at the end of the document which authenticates the affidavit
includes signatures and addresses and follows immediately from the text
Procedure for discontinuance and costs consequences:
- Claimant to file notice at court
- Serve a copy on every party
- Discontinuance takes effect from the date of service
- Costs order deemed to be made in D’s favour on standard basis
Rules on jurisdiction in the UK:
- Only ONE part of UK can have jurisdiction
- Land - where it is situated
- General rule - where D is domiciled
- Can be sued where D not domiciled if:
a. contract - place of performance of obligations
b. tort - where harmful event occurred
c. dispute arising in branch of company - where the branch is
d. where more than one D (must be closely connected so expedient to hear and determine together)
e. counter-claim - hear where main claim is being heard
What does “in the party’s control” mean in terms of standard disclosure?
- is or was in physical possession
- party has right to possession (held by agent)
- party has or had right to inspect or take copies of document
Key features of a Tomlin Order and why they are generally used:
2 parts:
1. Public - contains actions to be taken by court (stay, permission to apply, assessment of costs)
2. Private - contains the terms of the agreement and enables parties to include provisions beyond what the court can order
Test for granting permission to appeal:
First appeal:
1. Reasonable prospect of success OR
2. Some other compelling reason why appeal should be heard
Second appeal - in COA:
1. Real prospect of success AND raises important point of principle or practice OR
2. Some other compelling reason
What value does the debt need to be to obtain an attachment of earnings order?
£50+
What should a party do on receipt of a notice to rely on hearsay? (4 options)
- Request the particulars of hearsay - must be reasonable and practicable for purpose of enabling to deal with matters arising from hearsay evidence at trial
- Call for cross examination - application must be made no later than 14 DAYS after hearsay notice served
- Challenge weight of hearsay evidence
- Attack credibility of absent witness - receiving party must notify adducing party of intention to do this no later than 14 DAYS after hearsay notice served
Procedure for application for non-party disclosure:
Submit app which must
(i) specify order sought and list docs
(ii) be supported by evidence
(iii) require R to specify docs no longer in control or withholding inspection
(iv) app notice served on R and any other party to proceedings
Costs
* Presumption court order A to pay costs in dealing with app and complying
* Rebut if R acted unreasonably in opposing application or any previous requests
Non-party disclosure - When does the court have the power to order a person not party to the proceedings to give disclosure?
(I.e. what does the applicant need to show?)
- Documents likely to support the applicant’s case or adversely affect the case of other parties to the proceedings
- Disclosure is necessary in order to dispose fairly of claim or to save costs
Court still has DISCRETION
*only used after proceedings commenced
What is ‘Drawing Up’ an order and who can do it?
It is setting an order out in a formal document which is sealed by the court
It is done by the court normally
It CAN be done by a party and must be filed no later than 7 DAYS after being responsible
If party fails the other party may do so
When will an application for specific disclosure generally be successful?
- If court decides that the party against whom SD is sought has ‘failed adequately to comply with obligations imposed by order for disclosure’ court will ‘usually make such an order as is necessary’ for compliance – e.g. document should have been disclosed already
What is the procedure for allocation of a claim to a track?
- After the defence is filed and served, the court office will review statements of case and consider allocation
- Court will provisionally decide a track and send Notice of Proposed Allocation
- Notice requires parties to file and serve DQ (Form N181)
- IF FT or MT proposed - also have to file proposed directions [at least 7 days before CMC]
- IF MT - Disclosure report (Form N263)
- If MT - Costs Budget (Precedent H)
- If MT - file and exchange agreed budget discussion report (Precedend R)
- Court will order allocation hearing if necessary
- Court will send Notice of Allocation
- CCMC (if MT)
Definition of hearsay (civil):
Oral or written statement made out of court being adduced into evidence to prove the truth of a matter stated
When will costs management rules automatically not apply unless court orders otherwise?
Claims of value £10m+ commenced after 22 April 2014
What is the maximum value of claims for small claims, fast track and multi track?
SC - £10,000
FT - £25,000
MT - £100,000
What is set out in the disclosure statement (aside from the 3 parts)?
- Extent of search made i.e. was reasonable and proportionate
- Certifies that party understands duty to disclose
- Certifies that, to the best of the party’s knowledge, it has carried out that duty
- Signed by disclosing party or appropriate person (if a company)
Which claims can be brought in the County Court?
Claims under £100,000 must be brought in the County Court if they are not PI
Claims over can be brought in either, taking into account:
* Financial value
* Complexity of facts, legal issues, remedies or procedures
* Importance of the outcome to the public
What is a statutory demand (in relation to enforcement of judgment orders)?
Its a demand served on D. If the debt remains unpaid for 21 days after service of the SD then D is at risk of the court presuming they can’t pay debts. Makes petition for bankruptcy harder for D to resist.
SD = LOW cost and HIGHLY effective
Standard directions for a fast track claim and timings:
Standard directions:
* Disclosure – 4 weeks of notice
* Witness statement exchange – 10 weeks
* Expert reports – 14 weeks
* filing pre-trial checklists at court – 22 weeks
* trial date/period fixed for trial – 30 weeks
Consequences of unaccepted P36 at trial - D’s offer not accepted:
Where D’s offer not accepted and C awarded LESS - court order:
a. C to pay D’s costs from date of expiry of relevant period AND
b. interests on those costs
When will court give permission to withdraw or change the terms of a P36 offer when the relevant period has not expired?
- Court can given permission to withdraw/change offer if:
(i) Circumstances have changed since making offer AND
(ii) In interests of justice to give permission
Grounds of appeal:
- Decision is wrong - in fact, law or in exercise of court’s discretion
- Unjust because of serious procedural or other irregularity in proceedings of lower court
Key provisions of the Practice Direction Pre-Action Protocol:
- Letter of claim - to be sent in writing as soon as C decides there are grounds for a claim and attach documents setting out case AND what C wants from D and how calculated
- Response - D to respond to C within a reasonable time (14 days in a straightforward case and no more than 3 months in a complex one) and contain whether claim is accepted and if not why
- Parties should disclose key documents
- Review and create list of issues - if parties have followed the protocol and cannot resolve, should review and at least seek to narrow the issues in dispute before issuing proceedings
What do you 8 things do you include on a pre-trial checklist?
- Confirm whether complied with directions given
- Specify further directions required to prepare case for trial and enclose an application form and draft order for those directions
- To confirm whether court has already consented to expert evidence being given at trial – if not it should be applied for now as outlined above in 2
- Give details of experts, whether met to discuss reports, whether reports agreed
- Dates within trial period when experts not available
- Detail witnesses, availability and special facilities they require
- Give details of who will present case at trial and their availability within the trial period
- Estimate the trial length, including cross-examination and closing arguments and to attach proposed timetable for trial (preferably agreed between the parties)
When can a claimant issue proceedings in the High Court?
Which division?
Value: over £100,000 unless PI and then £50,000
(Value excludes interest and costs)
Professional neg - King’s bench or Chancery
Contract/Tort - King’s bench
Land, trusts, mortgages, admin of estates, bankruptcy, partnerships, probate, IP, company - Chancery
Family - Family
What must ALL statements of case contain?
A statement of truth
Requirements for permission to serve proceedings outside of jurisdiction:
What are the grounds?
- C must establish a ground (below)
- Claim must have reasonable prospect of success
- E&W must be the ‘proper place’ in which to bring the claim - e.g. witnesses based there, English law applies, D resides
Grounds:
1. Claim against someone domiciled in jurisdiction
2. Claim made in respect of contract which:
* was made within jurisdiction
* is governed y English law
* contains a term to effect that the court shall have jurisdiction to determine the claim (doesn’t need to be exclusive jurisdiction)
3. Claim made in respect of breach of contract committed within jurisdiction
4. Claim made in tort where:
* damage sustained in jurisdiction
* damage been sustained as a result of act committed in jurisdiction
What is a split trial?
Where evidence on liability is different to evidence on quantum and will further the overriding objective to hold 2 separate hearings
The hearing that assesses damages is called disposal hearing
What is the Debt Respite Scheme? What is excluded?
Provides temporary protection from a judgment/order for SOME judgment debtors
Scheme allows individual debtor to approach debt advisor to ask for breathing space (like a moratorium) of up to 60 DAYS (on basis unlikely to be able to repay debts)
Excluded - any judgment for damages for death or PI caused to someone else
When should you submit a list of authorities to court?
In High Court trials
Before 5pm the day before the hearing
What is a reading list? When should it be submitted?
In all HC King’s Bench and Chancery cases
Lodge reading list WITH the trial bundle
Sets out an estimate of the reading time of the bundle AND estimates length of hearing
Signed by ALL advocates
When can a petition for bankruptcy be issued and when can a petition for winding up be issued?
Bankruptcy - Debt over £5,000
Winding up - Debt over £750
3 instances a party does not have a right to inspect a document:
- No loner in control
- Privileged
- Disproportionate (rarely used)
Party can’t rely on documents it doesn’t allow inspection of
Time for filing an admission of the claim
Must be by notice in writing and can be either whole or part of the claim
Made within 14 days of deemed service of POC if served separately to CF or else 14 days of service of both CF and POC
When should you send pre-trial checklist (N170) to the OTHER PARTY?
At least 14 days before filing deadline
Can the parties agree extension of time to serve witness statements? If so, up to what length?
Parties can agree a 28 day extension provided it doesn’t put the hearing date at risk
Are there P36 consequences where offer made within 21 days of trial?
- Where offer made within 21 days of trial even if a trigger satisfied, there will be NO P36 CONSEQUENCES UNLESS court abridges the relevant period (shortens it) – fine because relevant period had not expired before trial
Where affidavit evidence is used:
Where making an application for:
a. freezing order
b. search order
Party can choose to use Affidavit rather than WS at any hearing other than trial
When might an expert ask questions to the court? Are there formalities?
- Experts may submit written requests for direction to help carry out task – expert must:
1. Provide party instructing expert a copy of any proposed request for directions at least 7 days before filing at court
2. Provide copy to all other parties at least 4 days before filing at court - To assist experts, where order requires act to be done by expert, party instructing expert must serve copy of order on other expert – C must serve order on the single joint expert
Objectives of the pre-action protocols
- Understand each other’s position
- Make decisions on how to proceed
- Try and settle the issue without proceedings
- Consider ADR
- Support management of those proceedings
- Reduce costs