Responding to a Claim

Admission of the entire specified claim

• Defendant must provide details of their income and expenditure and make an offer of payment, claimant can file a request for judgment

• If the claimant rejects this, a judge will decide the appropriate rate of payment

Admission of part of the specified claim

• Claimant has 14 days to decide whether:

  • To accept it fully and request that judgment be entered by court

  • Accept the part admission, but not the defendant’s proposal for payment

  • Reject the offer entirely

Admission of unspecified claims

• Court will serve notice on the claim, asking whether or not they accept the figure

• If they do, the claimant may enter judgment and the procedure works the same as admitting an entire specified claim

• If it is rejected, a disposal hearing goes ahead

Acknowledgment of service

• By filing an acknowledgment of service, a defendant is given an additional 14 days on top of the 14 days they already have to put forth a defence against the claims (s 10.3(1) of CPR)

• Period for filing an acknowledgment of service is 14 days after service of the particulars of the claim and 14 days after service of the claim form

Counter claim

Where a defendant puts forth their own claim against the claimant

Extending the deadline for filing the defence

• R. 15.5(1), with agreement from the other parties, deadline can be extended by up to 28 days

• If more time is needed, an application to the court must be made

Default judgment procedure

• Claimant must make an application under r12.4 to request it

• Requirements under r12.12(6): particulars of claim have been served, acknowledgment of service/defence has not been filed, defendant has not satisfied claim and defendant has not admitted full liability

Specified sum default judgme

Mandatory ground for setting aside a default judgment

r13.2, court must set aside a wrongly entered into default judgment (too early or already paid)

Discretionary ground for setting aside a default judgment

• r13.3, can set aside judgment when the defendant has a real prospect of defending the claim or there is another good reason for the case to be allowed

• r13.3(2), court will consider the promptness of the defendant’s application to set aside

• Three possible outcomes:

  • Defendant succeeds and the order is set aside

  • Claimant succeeds and an order is made for the judgment to remain

  • Conditional order, judgement is set aside on the condition that the defendant pays money into court

Costs for default judgment

• Under the mandatory ground, the claimant will have to pay the defendant’s costs of the application

• Under the discretionary ground, court will order costs as neither side is at fault

• If the defendant proves real prospect of success, they still have to pay the claimant’s costs of application

• If the defendant fails, they have to pay the claimant’s costs of the application

Discontinuance

• R38.2, a claimant may discontinue all or part of a claim at any time during proceedings, can be done against all or any of the defendants

• Need claimant applications to court to discontinue if the court has granted an interim injunction, an interim payment has been made, there is more than one claimant or any party has given an undertaking

• Form N279 is notice of discontinuance

Pre-action settlement

If there is a settlement prior to proceedings, the agreed terms must be clearly and accurately recorded in writing

Consent order

• Can be filed under r40.6 if there is no litigant in person

• The order agreed by the parties must be drawn up in the terms agreed

• It must be expressed as being By Consent

• It must be signed by the legal representative acting for each of the parties to whom the order relates

Tomlin order

• Special type of consent order which stays the claim on agreed terms that are set out either in a schedule, or in a separate document

• Makes sure that certain terms are there, must be signed by the litigant or their legal representative

• Contains any terms that the parties want to keep confidential/the court cannot order

• R5.4B and r5.4C, parties and non-parties can apply for permission to inspect copies of documents filed with the court (analysed in L’Oreal and Others v eBay International AG and Others (2008))

• For complete confidentiality, best to have the settlement in a separate document between the solicitors rather than with the court

Disputing the court’s jurisdiction

r11(4), defendant has 14 days after the acknowledgment of service to dispute the court’s jurisdiction, must have evidence as to why England and Wales is not the proper place for the case