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Dispute Resolution - 7 - Responding to a Claim Form and Particulars of…
Dispute Resolution - 7 - Responding to a Claim Form and Particulars of Claim
IMPORTANT -
Time Limits for Responding to a Claim and Date of Deemed Service for Particulars of Claim
Defendant must respond within 14 days of receiving
Particulars Of Claim
Specific methods of calculation for
Particulars of Claim
service
If sent before 4:30pm, deemed served
on that same day
. If
after 4:30pm, the next business day
Leaving at permitted address/delivering doc by hand
Fax
Email/other electronic means
Pesronal service
The
second day
after left with relevant service
provided/posted/collected by them. If
that day
is
not a business day
, then
next business day
First Class Post
Document Exchange
Specifics of CPR calculations
CPR measures periods of time in
Clear Days
If
end of period is defined by
reference to event, eg Court Hearing
(but service of defence is
not an event
), then
that day is excluded
(the day on which the event occurs)
If time doing an act
ends on a day that the Court is closed
(weekend/bank holiday),
time doesn't expire
until the
END of the FIRST DAY ON WHICH COURT REOPENS
How a
defendant can respond to service of proceedings
(using response pack)
Must
respond within 14 days of deemed date of service
, otherwise claimant
can obtain
default judgement
3 options to respond
1
Admit
claim
File and
serve a defence
to the claim (possibly with counterclaim)
Acknowledge
service and indicate they
propose to defend the claim
This is where
Acknowledgement of Service comes into play
Option 1 -
Admitting the claim
Using response form
Defendant
1. Admits in whole; or
If claim amount is
specified sum
(special damages), the Court
issues a Judgement Order to include accrued interest and fixed costs
Note - if sum up to £25k and they admit claim during PAP, they are
bound by the admission
If claim amount is
unspecified sum
(general damages), the Court
sets the case for a Disposal Hearing
, at which it
determines
the
damages
Defendant
2. Admits in part
Only needs to
file a defence to the disputed part
Eg
Admitting Liability but Disputing Quantum
(Damages)
Eg accept responsibility for the breach but deny it caused injury, damage, and
loss to the extent
the claimant says
File a
defence
for the
quantum
Other notes
Minors and Protected Parties, if defendants, must have the
court APPROVE any
admission
or
offer to pay
that they make
Request for time to pay/instalments (done via
Acknowledgement of Service Form
)
Defendant must
request
from court and
provide
details of assets, income, and outgoings
Claimant can
respond to defendant time/instalment requests
by either:
Approving
Raising objections (
with REASONS)
Court
determines appropriate
instalments
level
; or
Lists
hearing to decide
Withdrawal of admission
of guilt - possible with
Court permission if
Prejudice to parties
Reasons why admission was made
Stress the party was under when they made an admission
Interests of the public
Time when the application to withdraw the admission was made (pre or post-action)
Withdrawal of admission in personal injury claims
, clinical negligence, and disease and illness
If admission came
after a letter of claim
, pre-action admission
may be withdrawn
if
Recipient of admission agrees, or;
After case commences, court agrees
Option 2 -
Filing a Defence
Discussed more in chapter 8
Key point:
Defendant MUST PROVIDE REASONS
as to
WHY
they
deny the allegations
- not enough to just deny
Must put forward an
alternative version
to persuade Court why matter is unproven
Can be either for the entire case, or just for causation/quantum
If a
defence is filed within 14 days
of Particulars of Claim service,
there is NO need to file an Acknowledgement of Service
Note also that the Defendant does not admit, they must,
IN THEIR DEFENCE (not AoS)
go through the
Particulars of Claim and
respond to each paragraph
with an
Admission
,
Denial, or
Non-Admission**
(covered in
8.5.1)
must provide reasons/alternative version when denying here too
Option 3 -
Acknowledging Service and Asking for Time for Service of Defence
,
Disputing Jurisdiction
Eg if case is complex
Defendant should File
Acknowledgement of Service
within
14 days
of Particulars of Claim service ->
this EXTENDS deadline
for
Service of Defence
to
28 days from service of Particulars of Claim
Can request
CLAIMANT
to grant extensio of up to 28 days (56 days from service of Particulars). If
claimant denies this, can ask COURT
Acknowledgement of Service
Form lets
defendant
Indicate intention to dispute but seek additional 14 days to file defence
Dispute
the Court's
jurisdiction
Admit some of the claim but ask for time to pay
Process for Disputing Court Jurisdiction
Response pack includes a
box to tick to dispute jurisdiction
Defendant must:
File
Acknowledgement of Service
with box ticked
Within 14 days of filing
Acknowledgement of Service
,
make an application with written evidence to dispute court jurisdiction
Eg attach contract saying arbitration/different country's laws apply
MUST NOT FILE DEFENCE
until Court hears jurisdiction claim
If claim fails, they then have 14 days to file a defence
Setting Aside a Default Judgement and
Default vs Summary Judgement - timeline
Default judgement is available when defendant
does not respond
to Claim Form/POC within 14 days
Summary judgement is available
by application
AFTER defendant FILES ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF SERVICE
Also applies for interim payments
How to set aside a default judgment
Application - must meet
BOTH criteria
Defendant has a
real prospect of successfully defending the claim
; OR (it’s actually or!)
There is
some other good reason
why the judgement should be set aside and the defendant allowed to
defend their case
Remember, default judgment means defendant normally loses right to defend case
Court MUST set judgment aside if defendant can show it was WRONGLY ENTERED
Entered too early
Application was made after ap
plication that court had not yet considered for striking out
the claim or summary dismissal
Claim has already been paid/settled
Defendant already submitted time to pay request which wasn't considered
Defendant must act PROMPTLY
in request to set aside default judgement
Court can impose conditions on setting aside the judgment - eg defendant paying money into court
Other ways of ending court process - Discontinuance and Settlement
Discontinuance
Claimant may discontinue proceedings at any point
Must file/serve a
NOTICE OF DISCONTINUANCE
Once served, concludes claim, apart from
costs
Defendant may argue they're
entitled to costs as claimant did not successfully prosecute their claim
and defence incurred costs defending themselves
Settlement
Can be
reached at any point
in claim
Agreement doesn't carry legal weight until embodied in court order
Must be clear and unanimous, leaving
no doubt
in either party of their
obligations under the settlement