Dispute Resolution - 9 - Case Management

Overview and the Overriding Objective

Court has a duty to manage cases

Implements by making directions and timescales for steps parties must take to prepare case for trial

Court's overriding objective is to deal with cases justly and at a proportionate costs. This aims to:

Reduce expense and allocate the appropriate share of court resources

Make sure parties are on equal footings

Deal with cases in ways that are proportionate to money involved, complexity of case, and case's importance

Deal with cases quickly and fairly

Enforce **compliance with rules**, practice directions, and orders

Courts also:

Aim to identify issues early

Encourage co-operation

Decide which issues need investigation and dispose of others

Encourage and help the parties to settle

Fix timetables

Track Allocation - Process

  1. Defendant files defence
  1. Court sends parties Notice of Proposed Track allocation (Provisional/Initial allocation made here - different from Notice of Intended Allocation)

Court sends parties Directions Questionnaire, which aims to help the court manage the case and make appropriate decisions in line with the overriding objective

  1. On receipt of Directions Questionnaire, Court confirms the track and makes Directions, or lists case for Case Management Conference

What Court Considers in Track Allocation

Does not consider any costs apart from the AMOUNT CLAIMANT puts forward (ie no interests, costs, contributory negligence, or sums in dispute)

Does consider

PRIMARY - VALUE OF CLAIM

Remedy sought

Complexity of the case

Any counterclaims, number of parties

Circumstances of the parties

Importance of the claim to non-parties

The amount of oral evidence

Small Claims Track

Upper limit of £10,000

Though higher-value cases may be allocated here if less than £10,000 is in dispute

£1000 for personal injury upper limit, unless:

DO RESEARCH AND CROSS CHECK WITH FAST TRACK PI EXCEPTIONS

Process

Less formal hearing

Recoverable costs limited

£750 for expert fees

Limited to fixed costs and reasonable expenses in attending

Court can, however, award more if other party has behaved unreasonably

Party may apply to set aside decision in small claims court if they weren't in attendance of hearing. Must show:

Claim/defence has reasonable prospects of success

Good reason for not attending

Fast Track

£10,000-£25,000 limit

£1000-£5000 for personal injury

However, note claim MUST be issued in Fast Track even if it's worth less than £5000 IF

ALL 3 conditions are met

The claim is for personal injuries from a road traffic accident on /after 31 May 2021.

The claim is made by a child or protected party (or someone who was a child when Road Traffic Low Value Injury PAP first followed specified based on the date and protocols).

It includes a claim for whiplash

Recoverable costs

PROPORTIONATE to amount in dispute

Parties' approach in bringing and defending claim must be reasonable

Can be limited/decided by judge

Fixed based on claimant's recovery amount in

Personal injury road traffic accident

Employers' liability

Public liability fast track

Process/Directions

Court sends Notice of Intended Allocation (Different from Notice of Proposed Allocation, which happens earlier). Court then expects parties to consult and agree Directions

Normally Standard Directions suffice. If not, parties consult and agree directions, eg on:

Eg additional expert evidence, extended timelines, specific disclosure orders, interim relief/special hearings - essentially when court or parties believe usual procedural steps are not sufficient to manage the case

Important Features of Fast Track to Remember

Expert evidence limited in fast track claims

Emphasis on written, not oral evidence

Use of single joint experts is encouraged

Witness evidence stands as EVIDENCE IN CHIEF (but still need to go to court and do normal swearing process)

A party seeking to rely on expert evidence needs to provide justification and estimate the cost

Parties need to submit COST SCHEDULES ahead of Trial/Final hearing, as judge will often summarily assess costs at Trial's Conclusion

Parties need to submit COST SCHEDULES AHEAD OF of Trial/Final hearing, as judge will often summarily assess costs at Trial's Conclusion

Cases usually heard by District Judge or Circuit Judge (Circuit Judge is HIGHER)

These 3 things are normally required as Standard

Trial timetables

Trial bundles

Case summaries

A trial timetable is a schedule set by the court (or agreed upon by the parties with court approval) that outlines how the trial will be conducted and how long each stage will take (eg when each witness gives trial). Fast track trials typically do not last longer than 1 day

A trial bundle is a collection of all the documents that will be referred to during the trial, organized in a specific way to make it easy for the judge and all parties to access the relevant materials

Pleadings (Statements of Case), Witness statements, Expert reports (if applicable), Key correspondence (emails, letters, etc.) ,Court orders, Relevant legislation or case law Any other evidence that the parties will rely on.

Prepared by claimant

A case summary is a concise written statement that outlines the key facts of the case, the issues in dispute, and the legal arguments from each party's perspective. The case summary is usually prepared after the case management stage and before the trial begins, often as part of the pre-trial preparation.

Trials typically don't last longer than 1 day

Multi-Track

Value over £25,000 (to 100k) or where case requires trial longer than 1 day but below £25,000

May be issued in County Court or High Court

Agreement of Directions (After Notice of Intended Allocation)

Once Notice of Intended Allocation sent (after Directions Questionnaire received), court expects PARTIES to discuss and TRY TO AGREE DIRECTIONS

Confirms track with Notice of Intended Allocation

  1. Court sends Directions Questionnaire

More flexibility in case procedure - Procedural Judge has more flexibility

Stays for ADR encouraged

Proportionality does still apply, but Court usually lets parties instruct their own experts, and have more experts for more than 1 field

Filing of Costs Budgets

Don't confuse these with Cost Schedules, which come at the end of a trial (or just beforehand in a Fast Track).

Costs Schedule is a detailed statement of costs already incurred, used for quick cost assessments after fast track trials or short hearings.

Costs Budget is a forecast of future costs to manage litigation expenses in more complex, multi-track cases.

Must be filed before Initial Directions Hearing, which often proceed as Costs and Case Management Conferences

Has Costs and Case Management Conferences

Parties should bring:

Case summaries

Skeleton arguments

There may be many CCMCs before the case reaches trial

In TCC and CC Courts, judge is assigned to carry out CCMCs and Pre-trial reviews for consistency

High Court

Multi-track below £100k may go to High Court if involves complex issues or requires a High Court judge's expertise (specialist judicial knowledge).

Generally, claims valued over £100,000 (50k PI) are heard in the High Court.

County Court

Also, sometimes, cases over £100,000 can be heard in the County Court

The Directions Questionnaire

Sent after Court sends notice of Proposed Track Allocation (which is sent after Defence is filed)

Aim:

Help Court manage the case and make appropriate decisions in line with the Overriding Objective

Upon Receipt, Court sends

Notice of Intended Track allocation; OR

Lists claim for Case Management Conference (not to be confused with CCMC)

Questionnaire must address:

Whether parties followed Pre-Action Protocol

Case management information - ie what disclosures proposed, details of any applications, track allocation desires, amendments to Statements of Case, or further information requests

Whether experts are required

If so, identities, fields of expertise, why, and anticipated cost

Names of Witnesses and what issues their evidence addresses

Estimate of trial legnth

Details of anticipated costs of trial (Cost Budget)

Trial Periods and pre-trial checklists

MUST BE RETURNED WITHIN 28 DAYS - NO EXTENSIONS (from date of Order with DQ)

Case Management Directions - DIRECTIONS ORDER (from Court to Party)

  1. Court sends Directions Order

Made after Notice of Intended Allocation is sent

Vary based on Track

Small Claims Directions Order

Documents exchanged 14 days before hearing/trial

Includes documents to be filed or originals brought to Court

Provision for final hearing/trial date

Encouragement for ADR

That no expert may be used without Court's permission

Need Court permission to use expert

Special directions may be given - eg parties are to exchange witness statements

Fast Track Directions Order

Also (like Small Claims) no CMC

Standard Directions - memorise

  1. Disclosure (4 weeks)
  1. Witness statement exchange (10 weeks)
  1. Expert report exchange (14 weeks)
  1. Pre-trial checklist (used to determine compliance with Directions Order) (20 weeks)
  1. Pre-trial checklists returned (22 weeks) (pre-trial checklist fee payable)
  1. Date of Trial (30 weeks) - hearing fee payable

Applications to VARY DIRECTIONS

Must apply within 14 days of receipt of directions (otherwise directions assumed accepted)

Fees must be paid for pre-trial checklist AND hearing fee (but Hearing Fee is recoverable if case doesn't go trial)

Check Fast Track Directions Order below for definitions of these two

5.5 If Court unhappy with pre-trial checklist as it leaves outstanding issues, judge may set pre-trial review

scheduled if there are outstanding issues identified in the checklist or by the court. It’s a more formal proceeding where the judge addresses and resolves issues to ensure the case is ready for trial.

Pre-trial checklists and pre-trial reviews - pre-trial review decided by judge, pre-trial checklists check if parties have complied with directions and consider what may be required to prepare case for trial

Multi-Track Directions order

Typically follows Standard Directions

Tends to be no set timetable

High value and complex cases go to Case Management Conferences

Parties must file:

Disclosure Reports at least 14 days before CMC

Costs Budgets (prediction of costs) at least 7 days before CMC

Costs Budget is a forecast of future costs to manage litigation expenses in more complex, multi-track cases.

Document prepared by each party that outlines their approach to the disclosure of documents in the case

Case Summary

Brief synopsis of claim (Claimant drafts but defence should help)

What is a Case Management Conference?

Opportunity for Court to take stock of case and consider steps necessary to prepare case for Trial

Review steps taken to progress claim

Consider how far parties have complied with prev. directions

Consider any further directions or orders

Encourage agreement on issues, directions, or future conduct of claim

Consider any other relevant preliminary issues raised by parties (eg splitting the case when multiple unrelated defendants exist)

Parties provide an estimate of experts' fees and issues on which they will give evidence

Usual Directions in a Multi-track case

Confirmation of Track Allocation, maybe naming of judge


Encouragement to Consider ADR:


Amendments to Statements of Case if necessary


Orders to resolve any preliminary issues (eg legal arguments over limitations or whether a contractual clause applies)

Chosen Disclosure requirements

Directions for exchange of witness statements and limits on numbers of witnesses

Deciding whether Joint Expert is used

*Dates for submission of pre-trial checklist fixed + if necessary, arranging a pre-trial review*

Approval or amendment of parties' Costs Budgets to make sure costs are proportionate to case complexity

Non-Compliance with Orders; Sanctions and Relief From Sanctions

Unless Orders

Applicant requests from Court

Penalty imposed unless party complies with direction

Failure to comply with Directions may lead to Court STRIKING OUT claim, defence, or counter-claim

If a party defaults, you should apply for an Unless Order

COSTS ORDERS

Court may impose costs order on non-compliant party instead of striking out claim

Awarding indemnity costs

Increased interest

Party has to pay money into court

Debar a party from relying on evidence

Restrict witness or evidence use

Minor breaches are usually unproblematic as long as parties keep to dates of CMC, Pre-trial Reviews, and the Trial

Criteria for Relief from sanctions

Court considers, alongside proportionality and overriding objective:

Seriousness of breach (less serious = easier to grant relief)

Reasons for breach (if reasons were serious, eg illness or accident, court may consider relief)

(Must be filed with Court no later than 8 WEEKS before START OF TRIAL)

Pre-trial checklists seek to confirm what has already been done; and

Prepared on expiry of day on which directions should have been complied with. Both party makes 1.

A form of Case Management Conference. Usually takes place 4 weeks before trial starts

Purpose is to ensure parties are ready for trial -> court may give directions to this goal

Can be disputed within 14 days of service