Unfortunately, it is a fact of life that sometimes things go wrong or people have disagreements which lead to a dispute. According to the Ministry of Justice, there were 1,714,000 claims in the County Court alone during 2023[1] and that figure does not take into account those disputes that were resolved outside of the Courts or remain unresolved.
So, what should you do if you are involved in a dispute? Below, Liane Simmonds, Associate in our Dispute Resolution team outlines some points to consider when a dispute arises:
- Communicate issues early – you might wish to consider discussing the issues with the other party to establish whether it will be possible to resolve the dispute without the need for any formal action to be taken
- Follow the official complaints procedure (if there is one) – it is a good idea to follow any applicable complaints procedure and consider whether there are any independent organisations that might be able to assist you, such as an Ombudsman or an industry regulator
- Keep all relevant documents – during the course of Court proceedings, parties are required to disclose documents relevant to the dispute to their opponent and to the Court. It is very important that you take steps at an early stage to preserve documents in relation to the dispute
- Follow the Pre-Action Protocol – the Civil Procedure Rules contain various Pre-Action Protocols which set out the steps that must be taken before Court proceedings are issued. If the relevant Pre-Action Protocol is not followed, the Court can impose sanctions for non-compliance so you should ensure that you take any necessary steps to comply with the Pre-Action Protocol
- Consider Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) – ADR can help the parties resolve their dispute without the need to issue proceedings. There are various different forms of ADR you might wish to consider and these will be considered in more detail in a forthcoming article
- Don’t delay when bringing a claim – there are time limits for bringing a claim which are known as limitation periods. If you do not bring a claim within the limitation period, this may provide your opponent with a complete defence to your claim. The applicable limitation period will depend on the type of the case so it is best to seek legal advice on the relevant limitation period
- Seek legal advice – we always recommend that you seek legal advice in respect of your dispute. We can give you specialist advice on the merits of your position and the best strategy for seeking to resolve your dispute.
If you have a dispute and would like to discuss this with us, please contact Liane on 01403 224637 or email her on liane.simmonds@coolebevisllp.com
[1] Source: Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly: October to December 2023 – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
