The Court process can be daunting because there are a number of steps to be completed between issuing a claim at Court and the Trial. These steps are necessary in order to ensure that the case is properly prepared for Trial and that the Judge has all the information and documents required to make a decision in respect of the claim.
Here, Liane Simmonds, Associate Solicitor in the Dispute Resolution team outlines the steps involved in the Court process :-
- Issuing the Claim – Court proceedings are started by the Claimant sending a completed Claim Form to the Court to be issued, together with the relevant Court fee. The issued Claim Form must then be served on the Defendant. Particulars of Claim setting out details of the claim must either be contained in the Claim Form or must be served within 14 days of service of the Claim Form.
- Responding to the Claim – The Defendant has 14 days to respond to the claim by either filing an Admission, a Defence or an Acknowledgment of Service. If an Acknowledgement of Service is filed, the Defendant then has a further 14 days to file and serve a Defence to the Claim.
- Allocation – The parties must each complete Directions Questionnaires providing the Court with information about the case. The Court will then give directions, either at a hearing or on paper. If the Claimant wishes to file a Reply to the Defence, this should be done at the same time filing the Directions Questionnaire.
- Documents – The parties will be required to disclose documents relevant to the case to the other parties and to the Court
- Evidence: Witnesses – The parties will usually file and serve witness statements from all witnesses of fact upon whose evidence they wish to rely at Trial. The witness statements will contain a signed statement of truth confirming to the court that the contents of the witness statement are true to the best of their knowledge and belief
- Evidence: Experts – In some cases, it will also be necessary for expert evidence to be given in respect of technical issues. The parties may have their own expert or a single joint expert may be appointed.
- Pre-Trial – There will be various tasks to be completed at the Pre-Trial stage including the preparation of bundles of documents and agreeing a timetable for the Trial.
- Trial – During the Trial, the Judge will hear evidence from the witnesses and any experts, together with representations from the parties. The Judge will give a judgment in respect of the case, either on the day of the Trial or at a later date.
Every case is different and there will be certain steps which do not need to be completed for some cases and additional steps for others. This will depend on, for example, which “Track” the claim is allocated to within the Court system and which Court the claim is issued in. If you are in any doubt, we suggest that you seek legal advice.
If you would like to discuss the Court process in greater detail, please contact Liane Simmonds in our Dispute Resolution Team.
