Starting a Court Action Flashcards
The cases that proceed to litigation will be those-
Where both parties feel they have a good case to win or to defend
Money claims of £100,000 or less with no PI-
Must be issued in the County Court
PI claims of less than £50,000-
Must be issued in the County Courts
Other claims should be issued in the High Court if the claimant believes they ought to be by reason of- (3)
The financial value; complexity; importance of the outcome of the claim to the general public
Unspecified amount of money
A damages claim where the court is asked to assess the amount of damages payable to the claimant
County Court Money Claims Centre
One single County Court which has hearing centres across the country
County Court Business Centre
For mass claims
Rule 30.2
Proceedings started in the wrong county court may be transferred to another (considering financial value, convenience, availability of specialist judge)
If proceedings are started in the CC and should’ve been HC or vice versa-
The claim will normally be transferred and the claimant will have to pay the costs of the transfer but may also be struck out (except for bona fide mistakes)
Purpose of ‘brief details of the claim’ section of the claim form
To enable the court to ascertain what the claim is about without having to read the whole PofC
In calculating the value for the purposes of the claim form, the claimant must disregard (5)
Interest; costs; any potential finding of contributory negligence; any potential counterclaim or set-off; any amounts payable to the Compensation Recovery Unit
By r16.3, a statement of value must state-
The amount of money claimed or brackets for track allocation
In addition to stating the overall expected value of a claim, in PI claims the claimant also needs to declare-
Whether they expect more or less than £1,000 in general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (because if so then automatic fast track)
When does the claimant have to serve PofC if not served with the claim form?
Within 14 days from service of the claim form
Once the claim form is issued, it must be served within how long?
Four calendar months after issue (six if out of jurisdiction)
Can service of a claim form period be extended?
Yes by agreement in writing
If PofC served separately, when does it have to be filed?
7 days from service
Rule 7.5
The claimant must complete the step required by the following table in relation to the particular method of service chosen before midnight on the calendar day four months after the date of issue of the claim form
Rule 6.14
A claim form served within the UK is deemed to be served on the second business day after completion of a relevant step under r7.5
Methods of service in rule 7.5
First class post/DX, personal service, faxing, leaving document at the relevant place, other electronic method
To determine if service has been effected in time, it is necessary to consider-
The taking of the step required
The deemed service date is only relevant when-
Calculating the date on which the acknowledgement of service is due
Rule 6.5
Personal service is when left with an individual at their usual residence, on a company by leaving in with a person holding a senior position within the company and on a partnership with a partner/person in control at the principal place of business
Rule 6.9
Where the claimant has a reasonable reason to believe the address has changed they must take reasonable steps and make reasonable enquiries to ascertain the defendant’s current address
When solicitors are instructed, the claim form-
Must be served on them at their business address
Rule 6.4
The court will serve the claim form except when rule or PD direct otherwise/claimant notifies/court orders otherwise
Rule 6.17
Where the claimant serves the claim form the period for filing CoS is extended to 21 days but not necessary if AoS filed in that time
Where the court is to serve a document and it is returned undelivered-
The court will send a notice stating that the document has been returned to the party requesting service
Where the court is to serve a claim form and it is returned undelivered-
Service is deemed to have taken place if the address for service is the relevant address
When the Part 8 procedure is used, the claim form must be accompanied by-
An AoS form and any written evidence on which the claimant using the Part 8 procedure intends to rely on
