5. Issuing Proceedings Flashcards
How does a claimant start a legal action?
Completing a blank claim form which is then issued by the court and served on the defendant by either court or claimant’s solicitor
What eight things must a claim form contain?
- Names/addresses of parties
- Details of claim
- Remedy sought
- Values
- Claimant’s preferred court
- Fees and costs
- Particulars of claim
- Statement of truth
What is considered a full name for the purposes of the claim form for (1) an individual, (2) an individual carry on business a sole trade, (3) a general partnership, and (4) a limited liability partnership or company?
- Individual: Full unabbreviated name
- Individual carrying on business: Full unabbreviated names with their trading as name
- General partnership: Full name of partnership and every partner
- LLP/company: Registered name
What is the name given to a claim for a specified sum?
A debt claim
If the claim is for an unspecified amount in County Court, what must the claimant state on the claim form?
What range they expect to recover in, for the purposes of and using the same ranges as allocating to a track
What will a claim for damages always be, even if the claimant is able to itemise their loss in great detail?
An unspecified claim
If the claim is for an unspecified amount in the High Court, one of what two things must the claimant state on the claim form?
- That the claimant expects to recover more than £100,000 (£50,000 for personal injury), or
- Details of the statute that provides the claim may be commenced in the High Court
In estimating value of a claim, what should the claimant focus on and what should they disregard?
Focus on: What they are claiming for damages
Disregard: Interest, costs, contributory negligence, any counterclaim
What are the two court fees and what are the thresholds for each to apply?
Case over £10,000 but less than £200,000: 5% of claim value
Claims over £200,000: Fixed fee of £10,000
What does it mean when costs are to be assessed?
The court will determine the costs payable
What must the claimant’s solicitors take or send to court to issue a claim form?
- copies of the claim form to be issued and sealed
- court issue fee.
How many Copies of the claim form must be taken to court to issue the claim?
One copy of the completed claim form to be kept on the court file;
One copy for every defendant; and
One copy for the claimant to keep on its own file.
What is the significance of issuing the claim form?
Date of issue of the claim form:
- stops time running for limitation purposes and starts the clock for the time in which the claim form must be served.
How, practically, does the court issue the claim form?
The court issues the claim form by entering a date of issue on the claim form, giving the case a claim number and sealing (stamping with the court seal), all copies of the claim form.
Where and how should most money claims be issued?
Most claims in the county court for money should be issued centrally in the County Court Money Claims Centre – to be managed before transfer to a particular local county court hearing centre.
This is done by sending the claim form (Form N1) to the County Court Money Claims Centre and paying the appropriate issue fee.
