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Dispute Resolution - 8 - Statements of Case - Coggle Diagram
Dispute Resolution - 8 - Statements of Case
Statements of Case - Basics
Collectively: Particulars of Claim, Defence, Reply, Counter-Claim, Further Info
Purpose
Outline a party's case on:
Liability
Causation
Quantum (damages)
Court may
strike out inadequate Statements of Case
Adequate Statement of Case provides:
Details of cause of action
Exact nature of allegations
Financial consequences
Must be drafted in a way that fulfils OVERRIDING OBJECTIVE of CPR
The
Overriding Objective
means:
Judge and parties need to be able to
identify issues in case early
to
decide what justifies court time
, and let judge
give directions to ensure
trial can proceed:
Promptly
Fairly
Proportionately
Specific
Particulars of Claims
- useful bits to note
Contracts
Parties to and nature of agreement
Nature of contract and consideration
The te
rms that were breached
and the
facts of that breach
Losses that flow from the breach
and interest claimed
Debt Claims
Specify
debt has not been paid
Interest as per contract
Nature of goods sold and delivered, and (if appropriate), date of delivery and price
Tort
Road traffic accident
Brief description of nature of collision
Time, date, place
Occurrence of, and allegations of, negligence against defendant
Convictions related to accident
(eg defendant speeding)
Details of injury suffered
Injuries Suffered, Medical report and schedule of losses
- remember PAP
Employers' liability (eg factory accident)
Establish employer-employee relationship
Description of circumstances
Nature of allegation (eg statutory breach)
Common to all
Prayers - important in all - SUMMARY OF WHAT'S BEING CLAIMED
Interest
Costs
Damages
Statement of truth
(as on
claim form
)
Date
of document
Author
of document
When claiming interest
State
date
from which interest is being counted
State
rate
at which interest is being claimed
Statutory rate is not fixed, but:
Commercial cases: 1% above BoE rate
Non-commercial cases: 8%
Statutory rate
or
rate set out in contract
- Court uses
whichever is higher
State
basis
for interest (per contract, law, court statutory etc)
Must be included in
Particulars of Claim
if claimant will
rely on them
Allegations of
fraud
Any illegality
Details of any
misrepresentation
Details of a
breach of trust
Notices of a knowledge of a fact
Details of
unsoundness of mind
or
undue influnece
Details of
wilful default
Any facts concerning
defendant's failure to mitigate loss or damage
Defence
(Compulsory)
Must be served
onto every party on the claim
Can use form in
Response Pack
to state Defence, but normally filed separately and
served on every party
Multiple forms
Procedural
Lack of jurisdiction
Tick box on AoS, within 14 days
file applicaiton with written evidence for lack of jurisdiction
Limitation period
Limitation arguments must be
specifically pleaded; defendant must say WHY limitation period's expired and WHAT DATE it expired on
Can dispute damages
Defendant must say
why
they dispute claimant's value, and
if possible
provide
their own value
Can negate one of the elements of cause of action
Can also
admit damages subject to liability
- accept damage figure but says claimant must prove the causation/facts
Admissions, Non-Admissions, and Denials to each paragraph of Particulars of Claim
Admission
Failure to respond to a paragraph also automatically counts as admission
Claimant no longer has to prove it; deemed true
Denial
MUST
state reasons for denial
MUST set out
alternative version
'Defendant's positive case'
Claimant must prove a fact if it's denied
Non-Admission
Outside of defendant's scope of knowledge (eg nature of losses suffered by claimant)
Claimant must prove
Neither admit nor deny facts alleged in paragraph
Set-off Defence
Common in debt claims; where defendant claims claimant also owes
them
money, they can
file a defence seeking to reduce the amount they have to pay by the amount the claimant owes them
Must provide an
address for service (onto claimant)
Remember timings - within 14 days of Particulars of Claim receipt, or can file AoS and provide defence within 28 days of AoS receipt
Reply (Voluntary)
Purpose
Statement of Case a party may send
in response to Defence
Optional,
usually only used
IF
something has been raised in the Defence that requires a response
Makes sure
issues between parties are defined
-> Judge can identify the issues and decide what justifies court time
May
deal with any points raised in Defence that were not covered in Particulars of Claim
– eg
defendant alleging contributory negligence
Court does NOT infer adverse implications from failure to send a Reply to a Defence
Unlike from a failure to send a Defence
A reply’s
purpose is to clarify any points raised in Defence that were not dealt with in the claim,
or that the writer
took issue with
– it may NOTbe
used to rectify any mistakes or omissions from Particulars of Claim
May also be incorporated within the
same document as a Defence to a Counter-Claim
No strict filing deadline but ideally within 14 days of receiving defence
Third Party - (Part 20) Claims
What are they?
Either
counter-claims
against claimant by defendant; or
Claims
against third parties
who may be
liable
to claimant or defendant under facts claimant has presented
1. Counter-claim
Rules Around Court Permission
Permission not needed if
counter-claimed filed with Defence
(same for adding third party)
Otherwise, permission needed
Must be part of same proceedings - ie
should
not be brought in a separate lawsuit or separate legal proceedings
,
but instead should be part of the ongoing case
between the defendant and the claimant.
Key features
Arises from
same/substantially same set of facts
as
claimant
has presented
Is brought by
existing defendant vs claimant
Is
not a monetary claim
in its
own right
Is
not a defence
For all: Court
permission only needed
if adding
after submitting defence
,
APART FROM
counterclaim against third party
Must be served on every party in the claim
If an additional claim is issued by Court permission, it must be served on the relevant person within 14 days
2. Claim against another person (third party)
New party is termed a ‘third party’, and
application can be made without notice
unless court directs otherwise
Particulars
of
additional
Claim**
must be contained in/served with the additional claim**
If the third party wishes to blame another person, that would be the ‘fourth’ party, and so on
Defendant may bring this
against someone who is not already a party to the case
that
they blame for the claimant's loss
Eg Solicitor being sued by ex-client for negligent advice; Solicitor brings in barrister whose advice he relied on as 'third party'
3. Claim Seeking Contribution or Indemnity
What is the claim asking for?
Serves notice that the party wants another party to
pay the serving party
some (
contribution
) or
ALL (
indemnity
)
of whatever the serving party's required to pay
How do Contributions/Indemnities arise?
Contract,
Statute, or
By virtue of the relationship between the defendant and additional party
Same court
permission rules as usual, however:
If claim for contribution/indemnity is against a party who’s not added to the claim until later in the action (
a third party
),
no
court permission is needed if the party is served within 28 days of the third party
(them)
filing their defence
Ie. No permission needed if filed with defence (eg against primary claimant); ALSO Note below that:
4. Counter-claim against a third party absentee
Definition: This is a counterclaim brought by the defendant against a third party for
the defendant's own injuries or damages
, but arising from the same set of facts as the claimant’s original claim. Here, the absentee third party is being added as a result of the defendant’s personal claims (not the claimant’s).
The second type involves bringing in a third party to share responsibility for the
claimant’s losses
, while the fourth type
involves the defendant seeking personal damages from a third party (counterclaim) based on the same facts that gave rise to the claimant’s claim
.
Purpose: The defendant is not only trying to include a third party who is responsible for the claimant’s losses but also seeking damages for their own losses from the same third party.
Court
permission
IS
required
to file this type of counterclaim,
AND
a
fee is payable
Requests for further information
Any party can make a request to another party for
Clarification
of any
matter in dispute
; OR
Additional information
relevant to any
matter in dispute
MUST BE A MATTER IN DISPUTE - RFI DONT APPLY IF PARTIES AGREE ON MATTER OR IT'S NOT RELEVANT TO THE STATEMENT OF CASE
Process:
FIRST,
request the information from the other party formally
(without Court involvement)
Make a
court application ONLY IF
the other party doesn't respond
ADEQUATELY
in a
REASONABLE PERIOD
Make an application, serving a copy on the respondent
Will be
AUTOMATICALLY APPROVED
IF
other party didn't respond to formal request
If other party
did respond to formal request
, the Court will arrange a
HEARING
If the party rejects the request,
they must give reasons WHY
Responses to Requests for Further Information
must contain Statements of Truth
Party may reject Request for Further information as:
Request is unnecessary, irrelevant, improper
Responding party is
unable to provide
information/clarification
Party requesting info
gave insufficient time to respond
Expense of complying
would be
disproportionate
and thus
contrary to CPR
objects
The responding party is
protected by privilege
Amending A Statement of Case
Before
limitation period
for claim against new party expires
General process
If
all parties consent
, the court may decide with
out a hearing
If there is
no agreement
, a
HEARING
will be held
Applications to add/remove/substitute parties must be
DESIRABLE
- KEY WORD
DESIRABLE!!!
to
RESOLUTION OF MATTERS IN DISPUTE
Party wishing to amend must
file an
application notice
with the
Court
,
attaching the proposed amended Statement of Case
.
Adding a party
Possible if:
Desirable to add then
so court can
resolve all matters in dispute in proceedings
; or
There's an
issue involving the new party and existing party which is connected to the matters in dispute
, and it is
DESIRABLE to
add the new party so the Court can resolve the issue**
Removing a party
Possible if:
Not desirable for them to be a
party in the proceedings
Substituting a new party
(for an existing party)
Existing party's
interest or liability has passed onto new party; AND
It is
desirable to substitute the new party
so the Court can
resolve the matters in dispute
After limitation period
for claim against new party expires; Adding or Substituting (doesn't apply to removal obv)
Possible if:
The claim was
originally filed within the limitation period
; AND
The addition or substitution is
NECESSARY
because:
The new party is
substituted
for a party
MISTAKENLY named in the claim form.
The
CLAIM by or against the original party CANNOT PROPERLY CONTINUE
without adding
OR
substituting
the new party.
The
original party has died
or had a
bankruptcy order made against them,
, and thus
their
interest or liability has passed to the new party
.
Possible when
Mistaken original party name
Death/bankruptcy of original party ->
liabilities and interests MOVE TO SOMEONE ELSE
Claim by/against original party
cannot continue properly without adding/substituting the new party