Case Management and Allocation Tracks Flashcards
What are allocation tracks?
There are 4 tracks for civil litigation proceedings: small claims, fast, intermediate and multi-track. Each has standard directions and rules to ensure cases are dealt with on a proportionate basis
How are cases allocated to a track?
When the defence is filed, the court provisionally allocates that case to a certain track and serves a notice of proposed allocation on the parties.
Explain the procedure for filing a directions questionnaire (DQ):
The parties then file a directions questionnaire and cooperate to complete the questionnaire with the following info:
a) Which court and division they think the case should be allocated to;
b) Which witnesses and experts are required;
c) Estimation of the length of the trial;
d) Highlighting other documents or facts relevant to allocation;
The list of directions that they are seeking
Once the directions questionnaire is completed, the court will definitively allocate the claim to one of the 4 tracks. Once allocated, the court serves notice on the other parties.
The parties must fill in and file the DQ at least within 14 days of service of notice for the small claims track and 28 days for the other tracks.
What is the Small Claims track and how are costs awarded?
Small Claims Track (= or < than £10k)
Most cases with a value of less than £10,000
For personal injury cases or where tenants are requiring landlords to make repairs, with a value of less than £1,000
Some personal injury claims involving road traffic accidents have a higher threshold of £5,000
Costs awarded in Small Claims Track - fixed costs
Costs awarded are limited to fixed commencement costs and third-party costs, such as court fees and expert fees
What is the Fast Track and how are costs awarded?
For cases worth more than those in the small claims track, but worth less than £25,000 and
- Trial will not last longer than 1 day (5 hours); and
- Expert evidence limited to 1 per party in no more than 2 fields - usually a single joint expert is used
Costs awarded in Fast Track - summarily assessed
Legal costs and disbursements are recoverable from the other party - summarily assessed.
Statement of costs provided by parties 24 hours in advance of the hearing or trial.
Then, summary assessment of costs will take place at the conclusion of a fast track trial.
Fixed recoverable costs (FRC) apply with a set of four complexity bands - associated fixed costs for various stages of a claim.
What is the Intermediate Track and how are costs awarded?
Intermediate Track (£25,001 - £100,000)
The new Intermediate Track (CPR pt 28) is introduced for cases valued between £25,000 and £100,000, designed for less complex cases.
The Intermediate Track fills the gap between the Fast Track and Multi-Track.
- Trial will last no more than 3 days
- Expert evidence limited to 2 experts per party
- Maximum of 3 parties involved (1 claimant v 1 - 2 defendant(s) or 2 claimants v 1 defendant)
It applies to less complex cases that can be resolved within a three-day trial, with limited expert evidence, and where the claim is made by a limited number of parties.
Costs awarded in Intermediate Track - summary / detailed (depending on complexity)
Fixed recoverable costs (FRC) apply with a set of four complexity bands - associated fixed costs for various stages of a claim.
What is the Multi Track and how are costs awarded?
Multi-Track (> £100,000)
The Multi-Track serves for cases exceeding £100,000 or those of complexity, such as but not limited to clinical negligence cases, and certain actions against the police. Some claims, while potentially fitting the Intermediate Track’s monetary criteria, are allocated to the Multi-Track due to their complexity or the specific nature of the claim.
- Trial will last more than 3 days;
- More than 2 experts needed;
- More than 3 parties involved;
- There are additional factors that make the intermediate track inappropriate
Non-monetary relief claims are not automatically assigned to the Intermediate Track unless deemed just by the court.
Costs awarded in Multi-Track - detailed assessment
Legal costs and disbursements are subject to detailed assessment. Amount of costs is decided by the court on the basis of a detailed bill of costs approved by a Costs Judge / District Judge.
What are the differences between Fast Track and Multi Track?
Key difference between fast-track and multi-track:
In a fast-track case, the court will be particularly keen to narrow the scope of evidence (e.g disclosure) as much as reasonably possible due to proportionality. The date for compliance with each direction and the date fixed for trial will be substantially sooner than a claim on the multi-track.
