QLTS SCHOOL LTD.
Revision Notes –
Dispute Resolution
Solicitors Qualifying Examination – SQE
© QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Not for Distribution
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Candidates should:
understand the nature of civil and criminal
litigation
be able to identify the critical steps in the process
of litigation.
THE FUNDAMENTALS
CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES
Governs conduct of all civil litigation in England
and Wales
Supported by the Pre-Action Protocols
PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
Ensure you follow SRA Principles and Code of
Conduct when conducting civil litigation
Dispute resolution and proceedings before courts,
tribunals and inquiries (Part 2 of the SRA Code of
Conduct)
o You do not misuse or tamper with evidence or
attempt to do so.
o You do not seek to influence the substance of
evidence, including generating false evidence or
persuading witnesses to change their evidence.
o You do not provide or offer to provide any
benefit to witnesses dependent upon the
nature of their evidence or the outcome of the
case.
o You only make assertions or put forward
statements, representations or submissions to
the court or others which are properly arguable.
o You do not place yourself in contempt of court,
and you comply with court orders which place
obligations on you.
o You do not waste the court's time.
o You draw the court's attention to relevant cases
and statutory provisions, or procedural
irregularities of which you are aware, and which
are likely to have a material effect on the
outcome of the proceedings.
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
OVERRRIDING OBJECTIVE
Part 1.1 of CPR: “The Overriding Objective of
these Rules is to enable the court to deal with
cases justly and at a proportionate cost
o Achieving justice is the primary aim
o Incorporates requirements of expeditiousness,
fairness, proportionality and compliance with
the CPR
Underpins ethos and philosophy of civil litigation
Guides purposive interpretation of CPR provisions
– the lens through which they are interpreted
Clients must also act in accordance with the
overriding objective when meeting their
obligations and duties
Cost consequences for non-compliance
COMPUTATION OF TIME
Always subject to specific CPR provisions (Rule or
Practice Direction (PD))
Enumerated months are calendar months
Days = clear days (except when calculating
deemed date of service), beginning the day after
the date on which the commencing event occurs
and ending on the day before the specified
event/deadline
More than 5 days = bank holidays and weekends
are included
Less than 5 days = excluding bank holidays,
Christmas Day, Good Friday and weekends
Where the last day falls on a day in which court
office is closed, document will be filed in time if
done on the next day the court is open
IMPACT OF HUMAN RIGHTS ACT 1998
Words in CPR must be read and given effect in a
way that is compatible with the European
Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) rights
Article 6 – right to a fair hearing
o Where law restricts access to a fair hearing,
questions to be considered to identify whether
there is a contravention of the right:
Does the case involve a determination of
the person’s civil rights and obligations?
Is the administrative determination of the
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
person’s rights subject to control by the
courts?
Is the restriction of the person’s right to
access to the courts proportionate?
Article 8 – right to respect for private and family
life
o Protects information, correspondence,
telephone conversations and relationships
between spouses, parents and children,
unmarried couples and their children,
grandparents and grandchildren, sexual
orientation, personal identity and private space
o This right supersedes Article 6 where children
involved, but Article 6 supersedes where adults
involved
Article 10 – right to freedom of expression
o Qualified as against need to protect another’s
rights and reputation
o Needs to be balanced with Article 8
Human rights claims in the context of judicial
review must be brought in the High Court
Human rights claims in other actions can be
brought in the county court or High Court
A claim for damages in respect of an alleged
breach of human rights requires 21 days' notice
be given to the Crown
Deputy District Judges (county court) and masters
(High Court) cannot hear human rights claims
That there is a human rights claim must be stated
on the claim form (N1) and set out in full in the
statement of case
LITIGANTS IN PERSON
LIPs should be treated in a way that is fair and just
in accordance with overriding objective and
Article 6 right to a fair trial
Legal representatives must not take advantage of
LIPs
Must explain to client costs implications of facing
an LIP, and potential impact on court’s case
management decisions
Legal representatives may need to assist opposing
LIP in certain circumstances to help assist with the
progress of litigation
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
CLIENT CARE – INTERVIEW, INSTRUCTIONS,
COSTS ADVICE AND SOURCES OF FUNDING
PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AND ANTI-MONEY
LAUNDERING CONSIDERATIONS
Comply with the professional conduct and client
care matters (costs element considered
separately below):
o Provide a proper standard of service
o Take into account the individual needs and
circumstances of each client
o Provide information to enable clients to make
informed decisions about the services they
require and explain how services will be
delivered
Explain the distinction between solicitor and client
costs and costs between the parties
Ensure clients aware of complaints handling
procedure within the firm and their right to
complain, as well as information about the Legal
Ombudsman
You cannot act if there is a conflict or significant
risk of conflict between two parties
Bear in mind your confidentiality and disclosure
obligations
Money Laundering
o You must identify your client’s name and
address
Usually through a driver’s licence and utility
bill for individuals (including company
directors) and documents from a company
search for limited companies, as needed
BEFORE MEETING THE CLIENT
Prepare and send initial client care letter – firms
terms and conditions for acting, scope of the
retainer etc.
o Can also be done after interview
Conflict searches
Request money on account (client money)
o Clarify whether there is a charge for initial
interview or not
Request relevant documentation pre-interview
Prepare pre-interview questionnaire and send out
prior to meeting or go through at meeting
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
Ensure client brings money laundering
documentation to first meeting
INITIAL MEETING AND TAKING INSTRUCTIONS
Deal with professional conduct and client care
issues which may be outstanding
Verify client’s identity
Ascertain client objectives
o Nature of dispute, desired outcomes
Take full details of client’s version of events
o It will form the basis of a proof of evidence and
– later – a witness statement
o Clarify and secure further details where needed
Manage expectations, identify the basic legal
issues and advise of basic legal principles, dispute
resolution options, risks and responsibilities
If you are not sure of the correct answer to a
client's question, inform him that you will need to
check and let him know what the correct answer
is
Summarise your client's position and the options
available; advise of follow-up and next steps
POST-INTERVIEW ACTIONS AND FOLLOW-UP
Ascertain who you actually act for
Confirm authority of person you are taking
instructions from
Confirm authority, if needed with client
Identify potential parties to claim against
o Depends on the facts of each situation
o If more than one potential party, consider the
best course and cause of action and against
whom, bringing in additional parties, vicarious
liabilities and the capacity in which parties acted
o Identify whether potential opponents have the
means to meet any judgment
Conduct bankruptcy, company, credit, Land
Registry etc. searches as well as Register of
Judgments, Orders and Fines
Consider whether opponent insured (or is
the insurance company)
Risk assessment as to strength of case, prospects
of success and loss, costs of proceeding and
likelihood of costs recovery
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
Write to the client
o Funding arrangements
o Issue at hand
o Scope of retainer
o Costs estimate
o Request for documentation from client
o When you will next contact your client
Draft witness statement/proof of evidence for
client
Advise opponent that you are instructed to act for
client
Start liability and damages investigations
COSTS – CONDUCT CONSIDERATIONS
Provide clients with the information they need to
make informed decisions about the services they
need, how these will be delivered and how much
they will cost
Ensure clients receive the best possible
information, both at the time of engagement and
when appropriate as their matter progresses,
about the likely overall cost of their matter
Explain any limitations or conditions on what you
can do for the client, for example, because of the
way the client's matter is funded
Fee arrangements with your client
Discuss whether the potential outcomes of the
client's matter are likely to justify the expense or
risk involved, including any risk of having to pay
someone else's legal fees
Clearly explain your fees and if and when they are
likely to change
Warn about any other payments for which the
client may be responsible
Discuss how the client will pay, including whether
public funding may be available, whether the
client has insurance that might cover the fees, and
whether the fees may be paid by someone else
such as a trade union
Where you are acting for a client under a fee
arrangement governed by statute, such as a
conditional fee agreement, give the client all
relevant information relating to that arrangement
Where you are acting for a publicly funded client,
explain how their publicly funded status affects
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
the costs
Provide the information in a clear and accessible
form which is appropriate to the needs and
circumstances of the client
Keep clients updated on costs and funding in
writing
Put general costs information in client care letter
Keep detailed attendance notes of any costs
discussions
COST CONSIDERATIONS IN LITIGATION GENERALLY
Costs are awarded at the discretion of the court
The losing party usually pays the winner’s costs,
but won’t always get them in full
Litigation is expensive and even a successful
outcome involves the party incurring costs which
won’t always be fully recovered (but which the
client will still need to pay you for)
o The cost benefit of continuing with litigation
should be considered at each stage
Conduct of the parties is taken into account
o In some cases conduct is such that costs may be
awarded on the indemnity basis, rather than the
standard basis
Costs are assessed by summary assessment or
detailed assessment
Breaching professional conduct rules may render
you liable to the client for damages as well as
disciplinary proceedings
METHODS OF FUNDING
10% increase in damages for all non-pecuniary
loss claims
Before the Event Insurance
o Client may have pre-existing legal expenses
insurance
After the Event Insurance
o Can be used with or without a Conditional Fee
Agreement
o Insurer covers client against own and
opponent’s legal costs
o Is only available after dispute has arisen (‘the
event’ may be letter of claim or commencement
of proceedings)
o Last resort option
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
Won’t cover damages payments
Client must pay premium (except for insolvency,
defamation and mesothelioma cases, where it is
recoverable from the opponent if the client
wins, they are of a reasonable sum and the
decision to purchase ATE was reasonable), and
may be staged to be more affordable to the
client
Private Funding
o Client responsible for profit costs,
disbursements and VAT
Union Funding
o If union funding conditional on appointing panel
solicitors, retainer must be terminated
Public Funding
o Solicitors can only undertake work funded by
the Legal Services Commission (LSC) where the
practice has a contract with the LSC
o Eligibility test required of the client
o Publicly-funded client cannot be ordered to pay
opponent’s costs
o Funding can be partial (client contributes to LSC)
or total
o Extent and conditions of coverage indicated on
funding certificate
o Work which cannot be publicly funded
Personal injury work
Matters of property, trust, probate or
commercial work
Conditional Fee Agreements (CFA) (post-1 April
2013 only)
o CFA with success fee: client pays no legal costs
to legal representative until after the case is
concluded
If case is concluded and the client is
successful:
Most of the reasonable base costs and
disbursements can be recovered from
the opponent via a favourable costs
order; and
Post 1 April 2013 (previously
recoverable from losing party), the
client pays a success fee to his legal
representative (VAT inclusive) (except in
insolvency, defamation, mesothelioma
(lung cancer caused by asbestos
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
o
o
exposure) and clinical negligence claims
so far as they relate to the sum of the
premium paid to cover the costs of
expert reports, if the client wins, they
are of a reasonable sum and the
decision to purchase ATE was
reasonable):
- No more than 25% of damages for
personal injury cases at first
instance, except for future
pecuniary losses and net of state
benefits; or
- No more than 100% of legal
representative’s fees in all other
cases
Success criteria varies by agreement
Some barristers may enter into a CFA
regarding their fees
Discounted CFA
Enhanced percentage of base costs paid by
the client at stages in litigation
If client loses, legal costs reduced and client
may have a reimbursement
CFA must be in writing, relate to proceedings
which can be covered by a CFA (not criminal,
excluding certain environmental matters, or
family proceedings), the success fee cannot be
recovered from an opponent (post-1 April 2013)
and the client must be fully advised of the
operation of the CFA and liability for costs
Failure to comply means CFA may not be
enforceable
Collective CFAs:
Used by legal representatives acting for
clients routinely involved in litigation, like
trade unions or some corporations or
associations
One CCFA for client, not per matter
Fees paid on a common basis relating to the
type of claim
Risk assessment document for each
individual claim
Damages-Based Agreements (DBA) (not available
for appeals)
o Representatives recover fees from damages
client awarded if successful:
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
o
o
o
o
Cap of no more than 25% on the sum
recovered in personal injury cases,
excluding claims for future care and loss
Cap of no more than 50% on the sum
recovered in all non-personal injury cases,
excluding employment tribunal cases
VAT and counsel’s fees included in caps, but
not court fees or expert’s reports
Barristers may enter into DBA with client
Client can recover costs plus disbursements
from losing party in a favourable costs order,
which legal representative would set off against
DBA fee, and client makes up shortfall
If client loses, no payment to legal
representative except for disbursements
Defendant may be able to use DBA in a
counterclaim
DBA agreement must be in writing and contain
specific particulars; minimal guidance available,
but should also include:
Definition of success criteria
Method of calculation of legal
representative’s entitlement
Who pays the disbursements and adverse
costs
Dispute resolution between the client and
representative and
When DBA can be terminated
Some uncertainty about DBAs
Litigation Funding (3rd party pays fees – usually for
large commercial cases)
o Voluntary code of conduct:
Funder must have adequate financial
resources to cover funding for 36 months
Funder can only withdraw in limited
circumstances
Funder cannot control litigation by way of
the funding agreement
o Association of Litigation Funders may introduce
additional requirements
o Funding may be in full, partial or disbursements
only
o If case being funded is unsuccessful, funder may
be ordered by court to pay costs of successful
party (only in exceptional circumstances)
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
DISCLOSURE TO OPPOSING PARTY REGARDING
FUNDING
CFAs:
o Pre-1 April 2013: Notice of CFA and success fee
and any ATE insurance and premium (especially
if staged) required to be disclosed to opponents
Both pre-action and once claim commenced
No notice required for CFA without success
fee and no ATE insurance
o Post-1 April 2013: No notice as neither premium
nor success fee recoverable against opponent
DBAs/Litigation funding:
o No formal requirement to give notice
o May be tactically beneficial to give notice
BTE, Union and Public Funding:
o Pre-existing funding (BTE/union) does not
require notice to be given, but best practice to
do so
o Mandatory to notify opponent that case is
publicly funded
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
COSTS IN LITIGATION
GENERAL PRINCIPLES
Except for personal injury claims, the court has
discretion as to payment of costs by one party to
another
o and the court must take into account all of the
circumstances of the case, particularly criteria
set out in CPR 44.2
party’s conduct influences court’s decision
of whether and how much to award in costs
o except where a CPR 36 offer to settle has been
accepted
o in general, the loser pays the winner’s costs
but this is again discretionary, and may not
occur where the court considers that a
party’s conduct does not warrant a costs
order – which may result in partial or no
costs recovery
Qualified one way costs shifting (QOCS) in effect
from 1 April 2013 for personal injury cases and
clinical negligence cases
o Claimant will generally no longer be liable for
defendant’s costs, even if claim fails, but
defendant will have to pay claimant’s costs if
claim succeeds
o QOCS also applies to appeals, not just firstinstance claims
o Some exceptions, such as in cases of fraud,
claims for the financial benefit of another, the
claim has been struck out or has no reasonable
cause of action, it is an application for preaction disclosure or the claimant has entered
into a pre-commencement funding
arrangement
BASIS OF COSTS
Indemnity principle
o Winning party cannot recover more from his
opponent than the winning party paid to their
own legal representative during the litigation
o Exceptions
CFAs – before 1 April 2013, the success fee
could be recovered by the client covered by
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
the CFA. Post 1 April 2013, only the base
costs can be recovered
In-house legal representatives considered to
cost the same as instructing an independent
firm to act
A legal representative acting for a publicly
funded client can be entitled to full recovery
of costs at prescribed rates
Pro bono representation can be paid for by
a losing party
Bases of assessment – court has discretion to
award costs applying either basis
o Costs must be reasonably incurred and
reasonable in amount
o Standard basis
Only costs that are reasonable and
proportionate can be allowed, with any
doubt in favour of the paying party
Cases commenced pre 1 April 2013:
proportionality test was:
A preliminary decision on the
proportionality of costs as a whole must
be made at the outset in a case where
proportionality was likely to be an issue;
then
If the costs were not disproportionate
as a whole, the court could consider
whether each item was reasonable to
incur
If the costs were not held to be
proportionate, then at the second stage
the consideration is whether the costs
were necessary, not only reasonable
Conduct of parties a highly relevant
factor
Cases commenced post 1 April 2013: the
necessity of incurring costs doesn’t
automatically mean they are proportionate
to the value of the case
Costs should bear a reasonable
relationship to the sums in issue, the
value of any non-monetary relief,
complexity of the litigation, additional
work generated by the conduct of the
paying party and any wider factors
involved in proceedings
Disproportionate costs will not be
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
allowed even if necessarily incurred
o
Indemnity basis
Any doubt as to reasonableness of costs is
in favour of the receiving party
Proportionality is not taken into account
COMPOSITION OF LEGAL COSTS AND DISBURSEMENTS
Disbursements (counsel’s fees, court fees,
expenses and payments to other third parties)
included in bill presented to opposition
Work on the matter (considering matters, drafting
documentation, advising the client, reviewing
disclosure and documentation, attending the
hearing) broken down on a time basis at the
guideline hourly rates, which depend on level of
fee earner and location (but can be varied at the
court’s discretion)
Counsel’s fees can be claimed in relation to work
done
o Agree fee note in advance
For experts’ fees: pre-1 April 2013: based on
account of time spent and an hourly charging
rate; post-1 April 2013: any party seeking
permission to use expert evidence must provide a
costs estimate of that evidence to the court
CFAs
o Pre-1 April 2013: assessment of success fee
didn’t happen until after conclusion of the
case
o Court considers matters as they appeared
to the legal representative at the time the
CFA was entered into
o Success fee fixed in some cases at less than
100%
o Insurance premium assessment, pre-1 April
2013, focused around recoverability and
reasonableness
TYPES OF COSTS ORDER
Costs in any event – party in favour has an
absolute entitlement to costs of the application or
hearing regardless of outcome
Costs in the case – costs of an application or
hearing will only be recoverable by a party which
gets a favourable costs order at the conclusion of
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
the litigation
Costs reserved – court defers decision on costs
Party’s costs in the case/application – one party
‘wins’ and gets costs, but only if they get a costs
order in their favour at the conclusion of the
litigation
Costs thrown away – party in favour is entitled to
costs incurred as a consequence of a judgment or
order being set aside or proceedings being
adjourned
Costs of and caused by an amendment to be
borne by a party – party seeking amendment will
pay the other party’s costs of attending the
hearing and responding to the amendment (i.e.
amending or drafting their own statement of
costs)
Costs here and below – party can recover costs of
appeal and of the action in the lower court
No order as to costs – each party bears their own
costs in relation to the proceedings or part of
proceedings to which the order relates
COURT’S POWER TO CONTROL RECOVERABILITY OF
COSTS
See CPR 44.2 which gives the scope of orders the
court can make regarding costs recovery
Costs capping commonly used to limit the amount
a party can recover from opponent (but doesn’t
limit how much a party can spend on the
litigation)
Application is made by a party seeking to cap the
costs of another early in the proceedings
o Argument is usually that costs will be
unreasonably or disproportionately incurred
without a cap
Capping order at the court’s discretion – may not
make an order where the court considers it can
deal with the matter through general case
management powers or at detailed assessment
Percentage-based and issue-based costs orders
where there are many issues and parties are
successful on some and not others
o A party may be made to pay a percentage of its
or opponents costs or costs allowed based on
proving or disproving particular issues
Costs budgeting: pre-1 April 2013, a party in a
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
fast-track or multi-track case had to provide cost
estimates to the court when filing their Allocation
Questionnaires and, at a later stage of the
litigation when filing their Pre Trial checklists;
post-1 April 2013 for multi-track cases (with some
exceptions), and in other cases where deemed
appropriate, involves parties filing and exchanging
costs budgets 7 days before the first case
management conference, subject to the court
ordering otherwise
o Parties set out what they believe their costs will
be up to and including trial
o Future costs must be a proper estimate
o Court can approve or revise costs budget
o If a party exceeds its costs budget, they must
notify their opponent and the court; if not,
recovery may be limited to the originally
approved/agreed budget unless there is a good
reason to depart from the original costs budget
FIXED COSTS
Contained in CPR 45 for RTA, low-value RTA, fasttrack and Part 7 County Court money claims
o Different criteria for each type of claim
WASTED COSTS ORDERS
Imposed where conduct of a party’s legal
representative is improper, unreasonable or
negligent, causing a party to incur unnecessary
costs and it is just to make such an order
Representative themselves (through their firm)
must pay own client costs by way of indemnity, or
pay opponent’s costs
Court will make an order where a wasted costs
order is likely on the evidence and it is justified to
do so
COSTS ASSESSMENTS
Summary Assessment of Costs
o Hearing in which the court decides the amount
of costs to be dealt with in a costs order, if
parties cannot agree
o Applicable at end of interim application or end
of one-day fast track trial
o Intended to be brief, unlike the detailed
assessment
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
Parties submit Form N260 setting out costs
incurred
Detailed Assessment of Costs
o More in-depth scrutiny of costs, to decide on
the amount of costs to be dealt with in a costs
order, usually for multi-track cases
o Takes place several months after conclusion of
action where there is no agreement between
parties
o Usually involves costs draughtsman, to prepare
paperwork and attend hearing
o If costs value is £75,00 or less, assessment can
be done on paper instead of through a hearing
o At conclusion, court serves a final costs
certificate
Cost only proceedings
o Applicable in cases where the parties settle the
dispute, and who should be responsible for
costs, but do not agree on the level of costs
o Involves a CPR 8 claim for an order for costs,
followed by a detailed assessment of costs
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION (ADR)
DIFFERENT TYPES OF ADR
Voluntary process, consented to by all the parties
ADR is a 'collective description of methods of
resolving disputes otherwise than through the
normal trial process'
Telephone/round table negotiations
o Confidential and conducted ‘without prejudice’
– contents and outcome of discussions cannot
be used or referred to in later court proceedings
o Can take place at any time
o Not adjudicative – but parties can apply to the
court for a consent order which endorses the
terms of the discussion
Mediation
o Confidential and conducted without prejudice
o Client needs to know the full details of
mediation process, including preparation and
procedure, how long is required, and what they
can achieve in terms of time and cost savings
o Parties may be able to agree on a known
individual to act as mediator
o Can take place at any time
o Non-binding until a final written agreement
signed by both parties
o Attitude to and conduct of mediation may be an
influencing factor when it comes to costs if the
case ends up proceeding through the courts
o Parties prepare a position statement each in
advance, served on the mediator and each
other
o Neutral, accredited mediator tries to facilitate a
settlement by meeting with each party and
exploring positions, then meeting with both
parties, as appropriate
o Agreement may contain terms a court is not
empowered to order
o Cheaper than a trial
o Non-adjudicative
Conciliation
o Common dispute resolution mechanism in
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
employment disputes
Neutral intermediary speaks with both parties,
but may suggest his or her own solutions
Non-adjudicative
Executive Tribunal
o Used to resolve commercial disputes
o Similar to mini-trial but in reality not a trial at all
o Panel comprises senior representatives of
parties not involved in the dispute, with a
neutral adviser
o Panel hears the evidence from the parties in the
dispute then private try to negotiate a
commercial settlement, with the neutral adviser
issuing a non-binding advisory opinion in the
absence of agreement
o Non-adjudicative
Early Neutral Evaluation
o A third party legal expert – independent legal
representative or judge released from the
judiciary – reviews the facts and issues and
advises on likely eventual outcome if case were
to proceed to trial
o If a judge is the evaluator, they will not try the
action if the claim proceeds to trial
o Non-adjudicative
Judicial/expert determination
o Parties jointly instruct (form and extent of
instructions agreed in advance) and submit
written arguments to a retired senior judge or
Queen’s Counsel, who makes a written
appraisal
o Appraisal may or may not be binding, depending
on what the parties agree
o If binding, appraisal can only be appealed in
limited circumstances
o Can be on a preliminary issue, such as liability,
with damages the subject of subsequent ADR or
trial
o Adjudicative where appraisal is agreed by the
parties to be binding
Arbitration
o Process governed in the UK by Arbitration Act
1996
o Can be compelled if there is an arbitration
clause in the agreement
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Common in construction industry and significant
commercial contracts
Arbitrator an expert (lawyer, architect, quantity
surveyor)
Arbitrator considers written submissions as well
as meeting with parties, then issues a binding
final award
Final award released on payment of arbitrator
fees by the parties
Award enforceable in the High Court and can
also be applied against to be set aside
Can be costly and drawn out
Adjudicative
Adjudication
o Applies only to construction contracts (subject
to some exclusions) and requires the existence
of a dispute
o Can be a contractual term, agreed by parties or
required by statute
o Commenced by notice by one party and
appointment of expert adjudicator
o Adjudicator issues directions and calls for
written referrals; may also request site
inspection and issue directions
o Adjudicator must make written decision within
28 days of service of initiating parties’ written
submissions (‘referral notice’)
o Each party must pay their own costs regardless
of outcome
o Adjudicative unless appealed
ADR BENEFITS
Often cheaper than litigation (except arbitration)
Often faster than litigation
Non-adjudicative ADR less adversarial
More flexible in terms of outcomes and terms of
agreements – encourages settlement
Conducted in private and without prejudice –
except arbitration and adjudication
JUDICIAL ENCOURAGEMENT OF ADR
Consideration of suitability of ADR a requirement
of Pre-Action Protocols
o Warns that court may require evidence of ADR
consideration at a later hearing
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
Proceedings can be stayed (put on hold) to
attempt ADR
o When requesting directions at the outset of
proceedings
o At stages throughout proceedings, such as a
case management conference and pre-trial
hearing
Voluntary mediation service available at some
County Court hearing centres
o Fixed period and fee
1 hour fixed mediation part of small claims
process where parties signal desire to attempt
mediation
Potential costs consequences if parties fail to
enter into ADR process
o Ensure documentary evidence of consideration
of ADR with client and if you don’t proceed, the
reasons for not proceeding
SUITABILITY OF ADR
Not always appropriate where:
o it doesn’t meet client’s commercial objectives
o an emergency injunction is needed
o there isn’t enough evidence available to enable
negotiation or settlement yet
o the case can be dismissed on summary
judgment alone
Consider the appropriate ADR option – not all
achieve the same result by the same means
o Confidentiality may be required
o Consider timing and expense
Ensure client fully apprised of ADR options,
advantages and disadvantages, cost, their
obligations and involvement and timeline, as well
as the outcome (adjudicative or non-adjudicative,
whether they can do anything about a decision
they are unhappy with, etc.)
LEGISLATION AND ADR
ADR Directive requires businesses to ensure ADR
is available for consumer contract disputes
Online Dispute Resolution Regulation provides for
online platform for resolving consumer contract
disputes within the EU
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
PRE-ACTION CONSIDERATIONS
JURISDICTION
Ensure courts in England and Wales have
jurisdiction and are the appropriate forum to hear
the action
Statutory framework
o Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 and
1991 (including 1988 Lugarno Convention, now
superseded), 2001 Brussels Regulation, Civil
Jurisdiction and Judgment Regulations 2009
(including 2007 Lugarno Convention)
Check for arbitration or dispute resolution clause
in contract, especially commercial/construction
contracts, as well as jurisdiction clauses generally
o Check for ‘seat’ of arbitration and governing law
Other considerations
o Party resides or has business outside the
jurisdiction
o Agreement was concluded outside the
jurisdiction
o Costs and time of enquiring and proceeding
where a party or the claim must be litigated
outside the jurisdiction
Client authority may be required, subject to
retainer conditions
o Where a party is a limited company registered
abroad, whether it has a UK presence in some
way
o Whether litigation outside of the jurisdiction
leads to a better outcome for your client
o Check provision for enforcement of judgments
outside of the jurisdiction
Appropriate court
o Claims for specified sums of money in excess of
£100,000 must be issued in the High Court
o Personal injury claims (other than those relating
to clinical malpractice) must only be issued in
the High Court where the value of the claim
exceeds £50,000, calculated by disregarding
certain factors
o Appropriate court must be used where required
by statute
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
Where a claim is allowed to be started in the
High Court but the value is less than £50,000, it
will be transferred to the county court unless
certain exceptions apply
LEGAL CAPACITIES
People over 18 with capacity to litigate can sue
and be sued
o People under 18 and/or without capacity are
‘protected parties’ represented by litigation
friends
Companies have separate legal identity and can
sue and be sued
o Ensure the correct company is sued – i.e. don’t
sue the holding company if the subsidiary is the
entity against which the claim is made; if
company is in liquidation, 'in liquidation' needs
to be added to its name
Limited Liability Partnerships have separate legal
identity and can sue and be sued
Partnerships have no legal identity, so partners
can sue or be sued in their individual names, or be
sued in the name of the firm and adding the
words ‘a firm’ to the case title
Sole traders have no separate legal identity and
must be named
o Claimants must add ‘trading as’ and trading
name
o Where the name of a defendant sole trader isn’t
known, the claim may be against their business
name, followed by ‘a trading name’
Associations may sue or be sued in their own
name, except for unincorporated clubs, where
representative proceedings or member names
must be used
Trustees must sue or be sued collectively;
beneficiaries bound by an order but need not be
named as a party to an action
Claims against those who die may continue
against the personal representatives of the
deceased’s estate; court can substitute a party to
whom an interest or liability has passed
LIMITATION
Prevents a claim being brought after a period of
time; protects a defendant from potential
injustice of defending against a stale claim
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
Issue of a claim form stops limitation from
running out
o Often a defensive measure to issue ‘protective
proceedings’, after which investigations are
carried out before the claim form is served; be
careful to observe time limits as laid down in
CPR
Must be raised by defendant in order to have
effect
Limitation periods stated in Limitation Act 1980
(LA 1980) for most types of claim
Where another jurisdiction’s limitation period
must be considered, it must be applied to the
claim
Limitation period commences when the causes of
action accrues/arises
o Contract: The date of the breach
o Tort: The date loss is suffered by the breach of
duty
o Personal injury claims in particular: 3 years from
‘date of knowledge’
Date of knowledge is the date on which the
claimant had knowledge of the factual
essence of the act or omission that caused
the loss and had enough information to
make reasonable investigations into the
potential claim
A company removed from the Register of
Companies may be restored for the purpose of
making or defending a claim, but limitation will
run from date of breach, NOT date of registration
For minors, limitation starts on their 18th birthday.
For those without capacity when the cause of
action arises (or the lack of capacity was caused
by the cause of action), limitation runs on the
date they are no longer of unsound mind
Limitation does not run where fraud is involved or
a relevant fact is concealed until the fraud or
relevant fact is, or could reasonably have been,
discovered
Limitation for relief of a mistake runs from when
the mistake is, or could reasonably have been,
discovered
Latent damage: 6 years from date of accrual and 3
years from ‘starting date’ when the claimant knew
the relevant damage was sufficiently serious to
justify proceedings against defendant
24
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
Long-stop date of 15 years from the act or
omission alleged to constitute the negligence
causing damage
Limitation can be extended by the court in judicial
review, defamation and person injury
proceedings, subject to certain criteria
A contribution claim must be brought within 2
years from the assessment of damages against
the person seeking a contribution
LEGAL COMPONENTS
Liability
o Who is responsible for the breach of contract or
accident or act of negligence
o Joint = each party liable is liable up to the full
amount and each party jointly liable must be
named in an action (defendant will apply to join
any who are not named if a claimant fails to
include them)
o Several = each party is liable only for its
respective share
o Joint and several = Claim may be pursued
against one party, who can join in others who
share in the liability
o Vicarious liability = Master responsible for the
actions of its servant; i.e. employer responsible
for actions of employee where acts carried out
'in the course of employment' but not where
the employee was acting on ‘a frolic of their
own’
Causation
o Liability causation: a party’s actions caused the
accident or breach
o Quantum causation: whether that breach
caused a loss
o Whether a party’s actions caused a loss
May need investigation
Damages (previously known as ‘quantum’)
o Damages in contract must flow naturally from
the breach or be reasonably foreseeable by the
parties as occurring, at the time the contract
was being made
o Damages in tort must not be too remote and
must be a reasonably foreseeable consequence
o The claimant must have attempted to mitigate
their loss. Failure to do so may result in
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
reduction of damages
Consider whether there is an element of
contributory negligence; did the claimant’s own
acts or omissions result in the breach or
accident? If so, damages will be reduced by the
amount the court feels attributable, on a
percentage basis, to the claimant’s negligence
REMEDIES
Damages (money)
Check contractual provisions as to provision for,
limitations to and calculations of damages – are
these enforceable?
o Interest may be awarded on top
o Damages in contract: specified or unspecified,
to restore the party to the position they would
have been in had the contract been performed
satisfactorily or to compensate for expenditure
rendered futile by the breach
o Damages in tort: to put the claimant in the
position they would have been in but for the
tort
o Personal injury cases:
General damages: Pain, suffering and loss of
amenity as assessed by the court on the
evidence and guided by the Judicial College
Guidelines
Special damages – past quantifiable
damages up to the date of trial (loss of
earnings, medical expenses etc.)
o Damages are specified where the amount is
known, or unspecified where it is an amount to
be assessed by the court (evidence required)
o Nominal damages for technical infringements
with no losses, in recognition of the
infringement
o Aggravated damages (additional damages) to
the claimant where the court finds the
defendant’s behaviour objectionable as it was
calculated to injure the claimant’s pride or
dignity
o Exemplary damages in exceptional cases are
awarded as a penalty in excess of the actual loss
and for the court to show its disapproval of the
defendant’s behaviour (unconstitutional
behaviour by public servants, behaviour by the
defendant which causes profit in excess of the
o
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
damages normally payable etc.)
Provisional damages where the claimant has
suffered injury and may (measurably)
subsequently develop a serious disease or suffer
a deterioration in discretion; the risk of change
must be measurable
Delivery up (discretionary remedy)
o Requires a defendant to deliver up goods and
pay consequential damages, or pay a set value
for the goods (extinguishing the claimant’s title
to them) plus consequential damages, or pay
damages and not return the goods
Injunctions are equitable, thus awarded at the
discretion of the court, and may mandate
something be done or prohibit something from
being done
o Damages will be awarded in place of injunctions
where it is a suitable and adequate remedy
Specific performance
o Requires the performance of the obligations of
a party
o Equitable remedy where damages not adequate
o Specific performance and damages may be
awarded
Rectification (discretionary remedy)
Written record of the bargain is rectified to
reflect the parties’ true position
o Applies retrospectively
o
Accounts
o Claim must require notice of objections which
contain full particulars and grounds of alleged
inaccuracy
Declaration
o Declaration of facts as well as legal rights
Restitution
Can be made in law and in equity based on
principles of unjust enrichment
o Defendant repays benefit at the claimant’s
expense to the claimant, restoring the claimant
to their previous position by making good on
the loss suffered
o Claimant may also seek a declaration that the
defendant holds an identifiable asset on trust
for the claimant, assert a lien over an asset or
claim third party rights over the property of the
defendant (subrogation)
o
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
Defences = benefit received by gift, agreement
or obligation owed by the claimant or there is a
change of position
CLIENT DISCLOSURE OBLIGATIONS
o
Ensure client aware of disclosure obligations and
can produce all relevant documentation and does
not tamper with or destroy any documentation or
evidence
Start preparing to collate and disclose disclosable
documentation at the pre-action stages, especially
if they may take some time to retrieve (archived
etc.)
PRE-ACTION PROTOCOLS
Pre-Action Protocols for specific types of claims,
and Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and
Protocol (PDPACP) to cover pre-action in general
as an ‘umbrella’ protocol
Claims covered include personal injury, diseases,
low-value RTA, clinical negligence, professional
negligence, debt collection (business claiming
payment of a debt from an individual), judicial
review and others
To be followed in spirit, not just by letter
Aim is to encouragement settlement before
commencement of litigation proceedings and for
exchange of information so that parties can be in
an informed decision about the dispute and how
best to solve it, preferably through settlement
Even if settlement not achieved, following the
pre-action protocols ensure cases are properly
prepared for litigation
Not binding, but strongly recommended to be
followed, with courts checking on compliance,
parties potentially being asked to explain any
infringements or failures to comply and potential
costs consequences if parties have failed to follow
pre-action protocols without good reason
Point out compliance failures to the other side to
encourage them to co-operate; can be used in
your favour subsequently when it comes to costs
COMMON FEATURES
Template letter of claim and response guidelines
Disclosure and information exchange guidelines
and questionnaires
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
Single joint expert instead of own experts
Recommendation for ADR
DEVIATING FROM PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL
Potentially justified where limitation is
approaching
o Issue protective proceedings and explain the
same to the defendant, requesting a stay from
the court if the defendant agrees, and conduct
Protocol exchanges in the meantime
Interim remedy/injunction required to protect or
preserve evidence or assets
o Once the remedy/injunction secured, request
directions to enable compliance with the
Protocol
To avoid a proposed defendant issuing
proceedings out of the jurisdiction
o Issue protectively, then seek directions to
enable compliance with the Protocol
PRE-ACTION DISCLOSURE APPLICATIONS
An application for pre-action disclosure is
sometimes necessary to investigate a potential
claim fully
Outside of protocol but occurs pre-action
Governed by CPR 31.16
Made where the respondent and applicant are
likely to be parties to proceedings, the documents
would be disclosed under an order for standard
disclosure and the disclosure would fairly assist in
disposing of the claim without the need to issue
proceedings and save costs
Application, any response and hearing should not
be a mini-trial of the claim
Order (available only if respondent is likely to be a
party to proceeding or applicant is likely to be
party to proceeding) will specify documents or
classes of documents, and the deadline for
disclosure. Respondent must state which are not
in their possession, and why
APPLICATIONS FOR PRE-ACTION INSPECTION OF
PROPERTY
In CPR (25.5) but can occur pre-action in Protocol
phase
Inspection application must be supported by
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
evidence to show that property is or may become
the subject matter of proceedings, or is relevant
to the issues that will arise in proceedings
SETTLEMENT OFFERS
Part 36 and global offers can be made pre-action
See Settlement section for more information
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
COMMENCING A CLAIM
TRACKS
Directions Questionnaire (Form N181) allows
parties to request the track the case be allocated
to, along with reasons why a case shouldn’t be in
a track it would ordinarily be allocated to
Small claims track requires a different
questionnaire (Form N180)
Draft directions should be submitted with the
questionnaires and where possible agreed by the
other party
Small claims (governed by CPR 27)
o Cases with (after 1 April 2013) an upper limit of
£10,000, except certain types of claim (such as
personal injury cases worth more than £1,000)
o Hearings less formal
o Lay representation permitted
o Only fixed costs plus some fees recoverable
o Some elements of CPR do not apply
o Faster timetable from claim to hearing
o Party who does not attend may apply to have
decision set aside and a re-hearing
Application must be made within a strict
time limit and there must be a good reason
for not attending and a reasonable prospect
of success
Appeal only with the permission of the
court hearing the case, or the appeal
court
European Order for Payment (EOP) and
European Small Claims Procedure
(ESCP) are recovery options for some
cross-border debt collection efforts,
subject to conditions and limitations
(EOP and ESCP are now retained EU
law)
o
31
Fast Track (governed by CPR 28)
Claims with:
a value between £10,000 and not more
than £25,000; or
no monetary value (such as a claim for
injunction) or cases the court considers
suitable for, or parties elect to be heard in,
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
the fast track
Tight time limit – 30 weeks
Trials usually no more than a day
Costs strongly linked to ‘proportionality’
Some fixed costs – counsel’s fee etc.
Evidence restricted due to tight time scales
Pre-trial checklists filed; fee payable by claimant
refunded if settlement 14 at least days before
trial
Trial timetables set – trial a total of 5 hours
Trial bundles, case summaries and schedule of
costs must be filed in advance
Trials heard by circuit or district judges
Default judgments can apply to be set aside and
appeals procedure contained in CPR 52
Multi-Track (governed by CPR 29)
o Claims with a value over £25,000, or claims
worth less but where the trial will last more
than one day and are complex or important,
along with other factors the court will consider,
such as remedies sought, number of parties,
value of counterclaim, volume of evidence and
any other factors the court may take into
account
o May be issued in the county court or High Court,
trial in the latter subject to criteria including
high financial value, issues of public important,
clinical negligence and cases where there is a
right to trial by jury
o Notice of intended allocation sent to parties by
court, N149C(MT), parties file direction
questionnaires and proposed directions
o Stays for ADR encouraged and CMCs may be
used by a judge as mediation hearings
o Issues will be restricted, where possible
o One judge likely to be consistently involved in
the case; similarly, a legal representative or
counsel should have knowledge of the case and
authority to act on interim matters and hearings
o Greater flexibility on expert evidence
o Case summaries and skeleton arguments usually
required to be filed in advance of case
management conferences, application hearings
and trial
o Setting aside judgments in the multi-track is
governed by CPR 12 and 13
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
Appeals against judgments is governed by CPR
52
Part 7 Money Claims in the County Court
(formerly Designated money claims)
o A claim for money only (specified or unspecified
or both) started in the County Court and is not a
claim for which special provisions are provided
in the CPR
o All County Court Money Claims handled by
County Court Money Claims Centre in Salford,
which handles everything and all filings from
issue up to filing of completed directions
questionnaires by the parties
On allocation, claim transferred to
defendant’s home court (if defendant is an
individual) or claimant’s preferred court
o Claims may be issued online – Money Claim
Online – for specified sums not exceeding
£100,000 – following same procedure as above
Low value ‘straightforward’ (no contributory
negligence or issues of causation) road traffic claims
go through the ‘RTA Portal’
o Claims meeting the criteria follow a 3 stage
process, dealing with liability and assessment of
damages, with costs increasing at each stage
o Special Part 8 hearing process where liability
admitted but damages not agreed
o Complex cases or those where liability is not
admitted will comes out of the portal for
litigation
PART 7 PROCEEDINGS
Standard procedure
Party files duly completed claim form for the court
(N1), sufficient copies for the claimant/legal
representatives and for service on defendants,
and fee
o Proceedings not deemed issued until court
places its seal on the claim form, assigns a claim
number, enters details in issue book and sends
notice of issue to claimant, where after the
limitation time limit stops and the time for
service starts
o Notice of funding (pre-1 April 2013)
o Litigation friend certificate, if appropriate
Choice of court – apparent conflict between the
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
law and the CPR
o Money claim: county court unless value
expected recovery is more than £25,000, when
it can be issued in the High Court
Money claim issued in the High Court worth
less than £50,000 will be transferred to the
county court unless exceptions apply
o Personal injury claims may be issued in the High
Court only if the value of the claim is £50,000 or
more
o Interest does not form part of the value for
issue/allocation considerations
Statement of case may follow after issue and
must be served within 14 days of issue of the
claim form – response pack and copy documents
that were lodged with the court on issuing the
claim form must accompany the particulars of
claim in order for there to be valid service
PART 8 PROCEEDINGS
Form N208 - used for different types of claims and
where required by PD – costs only proceedings,
proceedings for a declaration, settled proceedings
involving child litigants requiring approval by the
court, for example
Automatically allocated to the multi-track
No particulars of claim, a defence or directions
questionnaire needed, but supporting evidence
must be served with the form and contain a
statement of truth
Same service requirements as for Part 7 claims
Defendant acknowledges service in Form N210,
explain any reason for objection and file any
written evidence with the Form
Hearing usually conducted on the basis of written
evidence; oral evidence rarely permitted
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
PARTIES TO AN ACTION
MULTIPLE PARTIES
Claimant may pursue multiple claims against a
party in the same claim form
A claimant may issue against multiple defendants
in the same action for different claims, subject to
the considerations of the case (type of liability
etc.)
Any number of claimants or defendants may be
joined as parties
Joint claimants must have the same legal
representative; co-defendants may be separately
or jointly represented
Court may order separate trials or consolidate
claims, as well as representative actions
PROCEEDINGS INVOLVING CHILDREN/PROTECTED
PARTIES
Children/protected parties conduct litigation
through litigation friends, except at the discretion
of the court
Litigation friends may be appointed by the Court
of Protection (for protected parties) or appoint on
application by following the procedure set out in
the CPR (in the case of children)
Litigation friend undertakes to pay any costs the
child or litigation friend may be ordered to pay,
subject to the right to be repaid from the
represented party’s assets, and can recover
reasonable expenses and money paid from any
monies awarded to the party they represent
o Maximum of 25% of the sum awarded can be
recovered by the litigation friend if the claim is
settled at up to £5,000, subject to the court’s
discretion
A litigation friend’s appointment ceases when a
child reaches 18, but for a protected party the
appointment will only cease when ended by the
court
The person formally represented (now a new
client) must serve notice on other parties as to
the termination of appointment, state their
address for service and confirm whether they
intend to carry on proceedings within 28 days of
termination of appointment, else claim or defence
may be struck out
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
DESCRIBING/IDENTIFYING PARTIES
Following correct conventions in naming parties:
Claimant/Defendant, Applicant/Respondent,
Petitioner/Respondent, Third Party, Fourth Party,
etc.
See Figure 9.2 in OUP Civil Litigation Book for
description details
Where there is a mistake in a party’s name, but
not identity, the court may substitute the name,
even after limitation
Where there is a mistake in the party’s identity,
proceedings must be re-issued – a serious issue if
the claim is time-barred if reissued
Where a party dies or is bankrupt, a party in
whom their interest or liability has passed will be
substituted in the action
Where a party cannot be identified, the court may
give permission for them to be sufficiently
described and be a defendant to the action
For Road Traffic Accident (RTA) claims,
proceedings may be issued against the driver and
the insurer of the vehicle (although insurer will
usually end up meeting the claim)
SERVICE OF THE PROCEEDINGS
Governed by Rule 6
Claim form must be validly served in order for the
claim to proceed through the courts unless criteria
under which service be dispensed with are met
‘Required step’ for service of the claim form must
be taken:
o Within 4 months after date of issue inside the
jurisdiction
o Within 6 months after date of issue outside the
jurisdiction
o Parties can agree extension for service of the
claim form through a written agreement which
states the extension deadline (exchange of letters
or jointly-signed document)
Safer to serve the claim form then apply to
stay the proceedings jointly with the
defendant
o Party can apply for extension to claim form’s
period of validity during existing period of
validity, but only granted in exceptional cases
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
37
Party may apply for alternative service, even
retrospectively
Court may order that steps already taken to
serve claim form by alternative method or
at alternative place constitute good service
Service via alternative method, even
Facebook or Twitter
If an order is made, date on which
alternative service effected will be stated in
the order
Methods of service
Date of taking ‘step required’ for chosen
method of service determinative for
calculating deemed service (as well as
determining whether claim was issued on
time), which occurs on the second business
day after taking the ‘step required’
Deemed service date relevant only when
calculating date for filing a defence or
acknowledgment of service
Even if deemed service date falls
outside period of validity for service of
the claim form, if ‘required step’ taken
within period of validity, the claim form
will still be served in time
Required step varies by method of service
(personal service, leaving a document at a
place, DX, fax, post, email etc. – specific
conditions apply to each and ensure other
party/representative does not exclude one
or more methods of service)
Court will serve claim form (except
specialist divisions of High Court) unless
claimant elects to serve it themselves
Certificate of service must be filed with
the court if a representative elects to
serve the claim form
Personal service must be effected if
required by court, or claimant/legal
representative chooses to do so (except on
a party that is legally represented)
Partnerships must provide partnership
membership statement, if required, within
14 days of the request
Service on a partnership must be at
principal or last-known place of
business or partners’ last-known
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
residence, or serving on an individual as
a partner, notice must specify the
capacity in which that person is being
served (Form N218)
Companies and LLPs served at registered
office (even if legally represented) or left
with a senior person
If defendant no longer resides at an
address, claimant must take reasonable
steps and make reasonable enquiries to
ascertain current address; or alternatively
make an application for alternative service
at last known address
Where you are notified that a party is legally
represented and their legal representatives
are authorised to accept service, you must
serve on the legal representatives, with
limited exceptions
In the absence of service on an
authorised legal representative, service
will be on the party
Documents returned undelivered will not be
validly served – another method or
application for alternative service required
Documents other than the claim form may have
separate service provisions
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
DEFENCE
PRE-ACTION CONSIDERATIONS
Burden of proving the allegations lies with the
claimant, but defendant must play a proactive
role in the litigation and putting forward their
defence
o Where a counterclaim is put forward, the
defendant becomes a claimant in respect of that
counterclaim
Defendant should comply with pre-action
protocol
o If claimant doesn’t indicate they are following a
particular pre-action protocol, or any,
defendant should consider the appropriate
protocol to follow and raise this in their letter of
acknowledgement, or confirm they are
following the same protocol as the defendant
o Send a written letter of acknowledgement of
letter before claim within 14 days of receipt
o Conduct investigations
o Formally respond to letter before claim within
time limit (as agreed by the parties, or a
‘reasonable period of time’ as defined by the
Protocol being followed; 14 days for a
straightforward matter or 30 days where there
are issues about evidence or third party
involvement required; longer for complex cases,
with more than 90 days to respond being
considered only in exceptional circumstances)
Letter should
Say whether the claim is accepted in
whole or in part, with settlement
proposals (Part 36 if appropriate to
protect against costs accumulating);
and/or
- Where parts or the whole of the
claim is not accepted, specifying in
detail which parts are not accepted
and why
Enclose reasonably requested and
disclosable documents
- Where documents are requested
but defendant does not enclose
them, the response letter should
explain why (not available, takes
time to retrieve, not a relevant or
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
disclosable document, application
of any privilege etc.)
Request relevant and disclosable
documents from claimant as needed
Indicate any willingness to enter into
ADR, along with details
Discuss any expert evidence and suggest
a possible single joint expert
Notify claimant of any relevant funding
arrangement, if applicable and
appropriate
Matters raised in letter of response do not
bind the defendant, except for admissions
(see below)
Defendant may:
o Deny liability – proactively refute the allegations
as to liability (and thus, causation and damages)
and assert an alternative version of the facts as
put forward by the claimant, by challenging
claimant’s evidence or adducing own evidence
o Deny causation – admits elements of the
claimant’s allegations but denies any breach,
accident or loss flowing from the breach or
accident was caused by the defendant’s actions
o Deny damages – the nature and extent of the
injuries or damages is either denied, admitted
but there is an element of contributory
negligence and/or some elements are admitted
but others denied
o Seek a settlement
ADMISSIONS
Admissions up to a value of £25,000 made preaction are generally binding unless resoled from
or meet certain conditions below
o Admissions may be inferred, express or implied,
written or oral or by conduct, between parties
and legal representatives, or between a party
and third party
Evidence may not be adduced at trial by either
party on an admitted issue
o Informal admissions (i.e. implicit
acknowledgement of a state of affairs)
considered evidence and further evidence may
be adduced to disprove the informal admission.
Where not proved, an informal admission will
not be binding
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
Where an admission is made in previous
proceedings but not raised in the current
proceedings by the claimant, or is made by a
person not authorised to make it (unless there is
ostensible or apparent authority, in which case it
is binding but the party making the admission may
need to indemnify the principal against whom the
admission is binding) or is unclear and ambiguous,
it will not be binding in the current proceedings
A party that has made a pre-action admission may
withdraw it with consent of the party to whom it
is made before proceedings are commenced (i.e.
the claim form is issued)
A party to whom an admission is made may, if
proceedings are commenced, apply for judgment
on the issue dealt with by the admission
After proceedings are commenced, the party
seeking to resile from an admission it has made
must apply to the court for permission
o The court will take into account a number of
factors
EXPERTS
Joint experts encouraged, but not mandatory
Each side which obtains an expert report as part
of the pre-action process may choose whether to
disclose the report to the other party
A claimant should not unreasonably refuse
examination by a defendant expert
In whiplash RTA cases, the claimant may only
obtain a fixed cost medical report
FUNDING
Private funding
CFA
Damages-based agreement
Insurer funding (RTA/personal injury cases)
RESPONDING TO THE CLAIM
Defendant need only respond once the particulars
of claim have been served (either with claim form
or subsequently)
Options for response:
o file or serve an admission (specified/unspecified
sum N9A/N9C) of whole or part of claim within
14 days of deemed service
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
a defence must be filed for those parts of
the claim not admitted;
the defendant will be liable for fixed costs
(where specified sum claimed), may make
provision to pay the sum or ask for time to
pay, which will be determined by the court
through payment instalments or at a
hearing, if objected to by the claimant,
and/or;
file an acknowledgment of service (N9) within
14 days of deemed service, where:
the defendant wishes to dispute the court’s
jurisdiction; or
wishes to file a defence, with or without
counterclaim, within 28 days of deemed
service of the particulars of claim (can be
extended by up to 28 additional days with
the consent of both parties and notifying
the court accordingly)
time limits do not apply where the
defendant is out of the jurisdiction or
files an application for summary
judgment; or
file a defence without acknowledgment of
service within 14 days of deemed service or
longer, as above (Form N11 or separate
document)
Where a claim is not responded to within the time
limits set in the CPR, the claimant may apply for
default judgment, except in certain cases
o Default judgment is not automatic and will not
have effect unless applied for by the party
seeking default judgment (within six months
after the date on which the defence should
have been filed) and granted by the court
DEFENDING THE CLAIM
Defence types:
o procedural (raising issues of jurisdiction or
limitation);
o defences to the cause of action (claim raises no
cause of action, cause of action is not
established on the evidence, or that the
defendant is not liable)
o defence as to damages (disputing causation,
alleging claimant’s contributory negligence or
failure to mitigate losses)
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
Part 20 Claims
o Counterclaim by defendant against claimant
(where the defendant has a separate claim
against the claimant arising out of the same set
of facts, as opposed to a counterclaim acting as
a defence); and/or
Court permission not needed where served
with defence; otherwise court permission
needed to serve at all other times
Fee payable
No claim form
o Claim for contribution or indemnity against
existing party; and/or
No court permission required where due
notice served on claimant and party from
whom contribution/indemnity sought at the
same time as the defence is filed
No fee payable or claim form
o Counterclaim against another, not yet a party to
proceedings, arising out of the same set of facts;
and/or
Court permission required, with the
application requiring a statement of case
from the defendant with details of current
claim and additional claim against new
party
Court permission will be accompanied by
directions for issuing and managing
additional claim
Fee payable
No claim form
o Additional claim against another, not yet party
to proceedings, arising out of the same set of
facts (where defendant wishes to blame
another party for the claimant’s losses); and/or
No court permission required where claim
issued at the same time defence is filed to
original action; court permission required at
all other times
Fee payable and Part 20 claim form
required
o Defendant who files a Part 20 claim becomes a
claimant against the Part 20 Defendants, who
may also include the claimant to the original
action
o Defence to counterclaim must be filed by
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
relevant party, with or without a reply to
defence of the original action (also an
acknowledgment of service where not already a
party to the original action)
Legal set-off
o A money claim for a specified amount by the
defendant against the claimant that is
connected with the claim which reduces,
extinguishes or exceeds sum sought by claimant
o Where the set-off sum is unspecified and not
connected with the claimant’s claim, legal setoff does not apply (doctrine of equitable set-off
may apply where two claims were made
reasonably and in good faith and were so
closely connected that it would be manifestly
unjust to allow one party to enforce payment
without taking into account the counterclaim –
which may even occur outside of legal
proceedings)
o Defence of set-off separate to cause of action
brought by the claimant
o Check contract for any exclusion or limitation of
defence of set-off
DEFENCE TACTICS
Application for summary judgment on whole or
part of claim
o Made where case has no real prospect of
succeeding and there is no other compelling
reason why the case or issue should be disposed
of at trial
Application to strike out the claim
No proper cause of action, claimant fails to
follow court directions or abuse of process
o May sometimes be effected by way of an
‘unless’ order, applied for by defendant or made
by the court of its own admission, which serves
to automatically strike the claim out if the
condition(s) in the order are not complied with
o
Early protective Part 36 offer (see discussion on
Part 36 below)
Application for security for costs
o Requires claimant to pay a sum of money into
court to meet costs a claimant may be ordered
to pay to the defendant
o Court will only make an order when it considers
it just to do so
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
Claimant’s ability to pursue justice, the
prejudice such an order would cause to the
claimant’s position generally, and other factors,
will be considered and balanced against the
defendant’s application
Part 18 request for further information
o Seeks further clarification or additional
information on any matter in dispute
o Can be made by any party to another in
proceedings
o Defendant should first make a formal request
o Part 18 requests take a specified format
o Completed Part 18 replies must be in specified
format and form part statement of case
o Requests should be reasonably necessary and
proportionate to enable the requesting party to
prepare their case or understand the other
party’s case
o Defendant can apply to court to compel a
claimant to respond to Part 18 requests (exparte if claimant has already received the Part
18s and failed to respond to them)
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
STATEMENTS OF CASE
REQUIREMENTS
Statements of case must
Follow certain drafting rules
o Court heading (claim number, court/court
division, party names and capacity)
o Identify the type of statement of case below
court heading
o Refer to parties in third person
o Paragraph numbers, subparagraphs and
subheadings (which should be referenced in
defences, replies, Part 18s and Part 20s, as
appropriate)
o Use clear and unambiguous language and avoid
anachronisms
Contain a signed statement of truth which follows
the form set out in PD22
o Where possible the statement of truth should
be signed by the party to the action (an
authorised representative where it is a
company), but can also be signed on behalf of
the client by their legal representative, which
will require a sentence in the statement of truth
that the legal representative is duly authorised
by the party to sign the statement of truth)
Better to have a client sign it, shows that
they have read and agreed it and protects
their legal representative
Potential for contempt of court proceedings
where a statement of truth is signed for a
document in which the contents are known
to be false
Provide an outline of a party’s case on liability,
causation and damages
Clarify issues in dispute
Set out factual allegations, including exhibits to
the statement of case
Set out legal basis of claim
PARTICULARS OF CLAIM
Requirements set out in Rule 16 CPR and PD16
General structure, adapted as needed depending
on the type of claim:
o Identify the claimant and their relationship to
the defendant
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
Identify the defendant and their relationship to
the claimant
o Identify the application of any statutory
provisions to the parties, relationship or
agreement
o Identification of any agreement relevant to the
claim establishing a contractual relationship or
duty of care owed by the defendant, annexed to
the particulars as an exhibit where appropriate,
or circumstances in which an accident/event
occurred giving rise to the cause of action
o Allegations and factual particulars of breaches
of contract or negligent breach of duty of care
o Losses flowing from the alleged breach,
annexing medical evidence and schedule of
special damages for injury claims
o Claim for interest
o Prayer for relief – damages and interest
o Statement of truth
o Date and author of document
o
DEFENCE
Requirements set out in CPR Parts 15 and 16 and
PD15 and PD16
General structure, adapted as needed depending
on the type of claim:
Should address every material allegation in the
particulars of claim, by referencing each
paragraph in the particulars of claim and those
allegations contained within
Defendant may
o Admit an allegation
Requires client instruction and authority
Admit that which should be admitted, and
don’t admit that which should not be
admitted – costs, case management and
professional conduct implications otherwise
o Deny an allegation
Alternative version of events or explanation
of denial required
May blame claimant another party in
respect of the allegation
Allegations must be particularised
Separate proceedings will need to be
issued if the denials amount to an
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
additional claim against another party
or claim for indemnity/contribution
Make no admissions on an allegation
Applicable where defendant has no
knowledge of the basis, facts or
circumstances of or relating to the
allegation
o
Where a particulars of claim is unclear or poorly
drafted, draft the defence as if the defendant
were putting forward particulars of claim
o Traverse clause permits denial of all allegations
contained in the entirety, a paragraph or section
of the particulars as if the same were specifically
set out and traversed
PART 20 – COUNTER AND ADDITIONAL CLAIMS
A counterclaim must be set out as particulars of
claim, but may repeat paragraphs of the defence
which serve as the basis for denying the
allegations in the original claim and the basis for
the counterclaim
For an additional claim, the statement of case
should reference, annex and summarise the
statements of case already served, deny the
original claim as against the defendant/Part 20
claimant, particularise the allegations against and
state (but not particularise) the losses claimed
from the third party
o Prayer is for indemnity, contribution or
damages generally
REPLY
Optional statement of case responding to a
defence in which matters were raised that the
claimant did not cover in the particulars of claim
and feels warrant a response
Cannot be used to amend particulars of claim
PART 18 REQUESTS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
No prescribed form but guidance provided in PD
18 1.2-1.7
Must be expressly stated to be a request for
further information under Part 18 CPR and
contain a signed statement of truth
Must set out the party making the request and to
whom it is made, set out each request with
reference (by citing in full the relevant parts) to
48
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
the other party’s statement of case in numbered
paragraphs, contain a date for response and that
an application will be made in the event of a
failure to reply
AMENDING STATEMENTS OF CASE
Any statement of case may be amended at any
time prior to service
Once served, a statement of case may only be
amended with the consent of all parties or the
permission of the court
o Where the amendment relates to amending the
parties involved in the action, the procedure
under Rule 19 CPR must be followed in any
event
Amended statement of case must follow the form
set out in PD17, with a re-verified statement of
truth where the amendments change the
substance of the statement of case
Does not affect limitation as deemed a separate
claim, commenced on the same date as the
original claim (if that was issued within limitation)
Costs of and caused by the amendment usually
paid by the party seeking an amendment, which
must also bear their own costs
49
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
CASE MANAGEMENT
COURT’S CASE MANAGEMENT POWERS
The court must further the overriding objective by
actively managing cases and can do so with a wide
variety of powers under Rule 3 CPR
Automatic transfer of cases:
o Cases automatically transferred under operative
provisions of Rule 26 CPR where the claim is for
a specified sum and defended by an individual
(and where there are multiple defendants who
are individuals, the home court will be that of
the first defendant to file a defence)
o Cases may also be transferred pre-allocation
where they are issued in the wrong court
Directions questionnaire (filed before allocation)
and pre-trial checklists (filed before trial) give the
court information to help manage cases and give
directions and for parties to request special
directions if required
PRE-ALLOCATION
There may be a hearing before a directions
questionnaire is filed, where an application is
made before a defence is filed
o Court may use that hearing to allocate the claim
and give directions, dispensing with the need
for allocation questionnaires
Notice of proposed allocation issued once a
defence is filed
Each party must obtain, complete, file and serve a
directions questionnaire (with proposed
directions for fast track or multi track cases, which
can be or be based on the ‘standard directions’ in
PD28 for fast-track claims or the ‘menu’ of
directions in PD29 for non-personal injury claims)
within 28 days of deemed service of the Notice
o Parties encouraged to cooperate in preparing
and filing the directions questionnaire and
agreeing proposed directions – which court may
or may not agree, but will have regard to
o Form N180 (small claims), N181 (fast/multitrack)
o Claimant pays a filing fee, to be returned with
the directions questionnaire
o Parties may extend time by agreement in
writing up to maximum 28 days, unless court
50
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
orders otherwise or extension would affect a
hearing date
Failure by one or more parties to file directions
questionnaires may result in the relevant party’s
statement of case – or the entire claim in the
case of the claimant – being struck out, or
allocation on the basis of the directions
questionnaires that are filed by one or some of
the parties
Usually no CMC for straightforward cases and
where directions agreed; if requested, directions
cannot be agreed or there is disagreement as to
the track for allocation, there may be an
allocation hearing/CMC
o Hearings by telephone, wherever possible
A legal representative who attends the
hearing must be responsible for the case,
part of the team responsible for the case,
familiar with the case and have sufficient
authority to deal with the issues that may
arise
A costs budget must be filed and may be binding
in fast-track or multi-track cases where there is no
Costs Management Order
ALLOCATION
Factors the court considers when deciding on the
track to allocate the claim to:
o Financial value of the claim
Court may order a party justify the amount
being claimed
o the nature of the remedy sought;
o the likely complexity of the facts, law or
evidence;
o the number of parties or likely parties;
o the value of any counterclaim or other Part 20
claim and the complexity of any matters relating
to it;
o the amount of oral evidence which may be
required;
o the importance of the claim to persons who are
not parties to the proceedings;
o the views expressed by the parties; and
o the circumstances of the parties
Court may place a case in a different track to what
it would ordinarily be allocated to if the parties
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
and court agree
Court may also reallocate a case if there is a
change in circumstances, nature of value of the
claim
Allocation orders may be appealed (if the party or
their legal representative were present at a CMC
hearing if it took place) or applied against for
reallocation
DIRECTIONS ORDER
Contains the steps the party must take to prepare
the case for trial or the point of pre-trial checklists
(after which there may be a further hearing or
directions order), and the timelines for
compliance
‘Standard directions’
o Directions which apply to average and
uncomplicated claims
o Contained in the PD for each track
o Small claims
Parties to exchange all documents on which
they seek to rely at least 14 days before the
hearing and file the same at court (‘paper’
hearings) or bring originals to the hearing
Notice of the date, time, location and time
allowed for any final hearing
Not encouraging settlement talks, with a
requirement to notify the court in writing
on settlement being reached
No permission for expert reports without
court permission
Special directions may be made or
requested where appropriate which may
modify the above, including exchange of
witness evidence if the court considers it
appropriate
If significant variation required, it may
be more appropriate to re-allocate the
claim to the fast track
o Fast track
Directions generally given on allocation and
on filing of pre-trial checklists
Where there is a CMC (which parties must
attend) necessitated by lack of cooperation
or default of a party, the court may impose
a costs penalty against the party at fault
52
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
53
Fast track standard directions set out in
PD28
Disclosure within 4 weeks
Exchange of witness evidence within 10
weeks from date of directions order
Exchange of expert reports within 14
weeks
Pre-trial checklists sent out by the court
20 weeks before trial, to be returned 2
weeks later
Trial period within 30 weeks
An application to vary directions should be
within 14 of the order, else the court will
assume the directions order was
appropriate at the time and any subsequent
application to amend the order must be
justified
Where the order was made following a CMC
at which the party seeking changes was
present, the order must be appealed
Deadlines can be varied by agreement
between the parties, except for filing of
directions questionnaires, pre-trial
checklists and the trial date
Multi track
Directions more complex and flexible
Longer timetable to trial
For claims less complex, the court will make
standard directions without a CMC
For claims more complex, the court may
have a CMC at which to make directions
May or may not include a stay for the
parties to attempt ADR, issues in
dispute may need to be specified, scope
and extent of disclosure may need to be
set out, there may need to be a split
trial on liability and damages etc.
An application to vary directions should be
within 14 of the order, else the court will
assume the directions order was
appropriate at the time and any subsequent
application to amend the order must be
justified
Where the order was made following a CMC
at which the party seeking changes was
present, the order must be appealed
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
Deadlines can be varied by agreement
between the parties, except for filing of
directions questionnaires, pre-trial
checklists and the trial date
PRE-TRIAL CHECKLISTS
Often the final step in the court’s directions order
made when the case is allocated
Helps the court ascertain the parties’ positions,
costs, request special directions and timetable the
case to trial
Parties encouraged to cooperate in completing
pre-trial checklists
Claimant pays pre-trial checklist filing fee as well
as hearing fee (defendant pays if claim proceeds
on counterclaim alone)
o Unless order/claim struck out if fees not paid
o Refundable if a party informs the court in
written at least 7 days before the trial date (or
before the trial date is fixed) that there is a
settlement
May or may not be a pre-trial review/hearing
Directions order issued timetabling the cases to
trial, generally providing for
o The trial date (separate Notice of Trial Date will
also be issued)
o Provision for evidence, witnesses, expert
evidence etc.
o Requirement (if any) for trial timetable and trial
estimate
o Provisions for preparation of trial bundle
(usually by the claimant)
o Trial requirements – interpreter; IT facilities etc.
CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCES
Covered above, but may be held in order to
allocate the claim, review the matter at trial,
where the timetable has significantly slipped or
circumstances of the case have changed, as part
of an interim application (pre-allocation, for
example) etc.
Aim is to review steps taken to progress the
action, review compliance with previous
directions or orders, decide further
steps/directions/orders needed and record any
agreements
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
Case may require a case summary and/or ‘case
management bundle’ in advance of the CMC
FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH DIRECTIONS
Court has wide ranging powers to encourage
compliance and sanction parties for non-compliance,
from striking out a party’s statement of case, refusing to
grant requests for time, restricting
evidence/witnesses/experts, debarring evidence or
costs orders (adverse costs orders, indemnity costs,
increase interest on damages etc.)
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
INTERIM APPLICATIONS
GENERAL
Applications are made after a claim is issued and
before a trial, relating something which requires
court permission
o Court may make interim orders and grant a
range of interim remedies
Applications range from minor procedural
elements such as extensions of time up to striking
out a case or summary judgment
Made to progress a case, preserve evidence or as
part of tactical conduct of a case
Applications generally are covered by Rule 23 CPR
and PD23, but specific application types have
other parts of the CPR guiding their usage and
procedure, including evidence requirements
o If there is no provision for an application type in
the CPR, such an application cannot be made
Client authorisation must be obtained in order to
make an interim application
SUPPORTING EVIDENCE
An application will always need to be supported
by reasons and evidence
o Reasons can be persuasively argued and backed
up by exhibited documents, but do not
constitute evidence
o Evidence is not subject to cross-examination
and the rules are more relaxed
o Evidence has more weight than assertions and
applications based on evidence will usually be
stronger and more persuasive
Pre-hearing discussions may yield informal
admissions (inadvertently) unless stated to be
without prejudice
GENERAL PROCEDURE
The procedure and criteria which must be met by
a party making an application vary by the nature
of the application or remedy sought
Generally a written request should be made to
the party who will be a respondent, before an
application is made
General procedure in CPR23 (consult for full
guidance):
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Any application should be made as soon as it is
apparent that it is necessary or desirable to do
so
Applications should be made to the court in
which the action is proceeding or the trial or
enforcement court as appropriate, and heard at
hearings already listed where possible (i.e.
CMCs)
Pre-action applications should be made to the
court in which any proceedings are likely to be
issued
An application notice, draft order and any
required evidence in support must be filed at
court (save for limited exceptions) and served
on another party (except where made ex-parte;
such applications should only be made with
good reason) or the court provided with
sufficient copies to serve the application on
other parties
The application must state what order the
applicant is asking to make the court and why
Timings as to making, filing and serving
evidence are set down and should be followed,
both for the applicant and respondent
The application fee must be paid or the
application will not be processed by the court
(unless there is an exemption due to financial
hardship)
A costs schedule for each party (if a costs order
is sought by the applicant) must be filed and
served at least 24 hours before the hearing
Ex parte applications (those made without
notice to the other party) usually have a
costs schedule filed with the application
An applicant should provide a time estimate of
the hearing, which should be agreed with the
respondent(s) in the case of on notice applications
NOTICES AND HEARINGS
Court may or may not hold a hearing for
applications on notice
o Hearing unlikely where an order is agreed
o Court may not feel a hearing is appropriate
o Most hearings by telephone
Court may or may not hold a hearing for
applications ex parte
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
Ex parte applications may only be made with
good reason, such as in cases of urgency, where
a party isn’t yet on the court record, it furthers
the overriding objective, parties consent, the
court grants permission or the CPR permits or
notice would defeat the purpose of the
application
Applications made ex parte without good
reason may be dismissed or adjourned until
proper notice is given
Ex parte orders must be served on the
respondent when made, along with the
application and evidence in support
Usually served by the court, but an
applicant may serve it themselves
APPLICATION TYPES
SUMMARY JUDGMENT
Used where all or part of a claimant or
defendant’s case shows no reasonable prospects
of success and there is no other compelling
reason why the case should be heard at trial
(unlike a ‘default’ judgment, which is
administrative)
Criteria for a summary judgment under Rule 24
CPR must be strictly followed and an order for
summary judgment cannot be made unless they
are met (but lesser orders possible such as
payments on part of a claim or taking steps within
a specified time, or directions orders on
unsuccessful applications), as potential breach of
Article 6 ECHR
Strike out where a claim or defence is so weak on
the facts that it will not succeed
Procedure under Rule 23 CPR for applications
generally and Rule 24 CPR for summary judgment
applications must be followed:
o Claimant cannot make application until after
service of particulars of claim and
acknowledgment of service/defence by
defendant (if application made after
acknowledgment of service and before defence,
no need for defendant to file defence until after
application hearing)
o Respondent must receive 14 days’ notice of the
application hearing (supported by written
evidence) and the issues it is proposed the court
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
o
o
will decide at the hearing; and written evidence
must be served on the other party at least 14
days before the hearing;
If an application is being opposed, that evidence
must be served on the other party at least 7
days before the hearing;
Skeleton arguments and court bundles should
be prepared in most applications;
A draft order should be prepared and filed with
the application; and
The parties must file a costs schedule in Form
N260 24 hours before the hearing.
If the defendant does not attend the hearing, any
order made may be set aside on just terms
Application by claimant unlikely to be considered
if the claimant has failed to comply with the
relevant pre-action protocol until compliance has
been effected or the time limit for doing so
expires
Evidence must satisfy the summary judgment
criteria and the burden of proof is on the
applicant
UNLESS ORDER
Used to force compliance on a party which is
recalcitrant
If the ensuring order is not complied with, the
claim is automatically struck out and an adverse
costs order is made against the defaulting party
RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS
Applicant asks relief from the sanction concerned
– strike out, evidence debarring, adverse costs
order, etc.
Must be made as soon as practicable and
supported by evidence
SETTING ASIDE DEFAULT JUDGMENT
About default judgment
Early determination of an action, or part of an
action – i.e. liability
Administrative and made at the request of the
claimant (by using the specified form or by using
an application notice) but is not actually an
interim application, per Rule 12 CPR
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
No default judgment where:
o other applications relating to strike out or
summary judgment pending
o it relates to a defendant’s counterclaim against
claimant except on expiry for period of time for
filing a defence (but possible for claims for
indemnity/contribution or additional claims
against other parties)
o the claimant has served the claim but failed to
file a certificate of service with the court
Special provisions for multiple defendants and
defendants sued in the alternative and if
defendant is a child, a patient, or the state.
Depending on the type of claim, a default
judgment is sought either by filing a request or by
application to the court.
Filing a request
Defendant must file form N225 if the claim is for a
specific amount of money or for delivery up
where the defendant is given the alternative of
paying a specific amount
Defendant must file form N227 if the sum of
money is to be determined by the court
The relevant completed form will be lodged in the
court and no fee will be required
The request will be dealt with by the court
administratively rather than judicially and If the
requirements are made out, judgment will be
entered
Application to set aside
Defendant must make an application per Rule 13
CPR
Where defendant can show that default judgment
was wrongly entered per the grounds in Rule 13
CPR, the court must set it aside
In all other situations, the court may set the
default judgment at its discretion where the
defendant can show (with evidence) that it acted
promptly and has a real prospect of successfully
defendant the claim or has another good reason
why the default judgment should be set aside
Applications should be agreed where possible,
which will usually avoid a hearing and save costs
Automatic transfer provisions may apply when
the application is issued, otherwise the
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
application will be heard in the court in which it
was issued (except Part 7 money claims)
Where application succeeds and default judgment
is set aside, any order as part of the default
judgment to pay the claimant a sum will also be
set aside
o Order may be conditional or unconditional, such
as the court thinks fit
INTERIM PAYMENTS
Discretionary court award made on claims where
damages are disputed or not yet clear
o Can be made on notice where it appears to the
court there are good reasons for not giving
notice
o Application must be supported by evidence
Sum of money sought
Items or matters in respect of which
payment is sought
Estimate of likely sum of any final judgment
and evidence in support
Reasons why the application meets the
interim payment grounds; and
Any other relevant matters
o Can be made pre-action or against a non-party,
subject to following relevant CPR rules and
practice directions, or before defendant files
and acknowledgment of service
Can alleviate financial hardship or avoid claimant
feeling pressured into taking a low offer,
especially where injuries not yet stabilised and full
diagnosis, prognosis and care difficult to ascertain
Grounds for an interim payment:
o the defendant against whom the order is sought
has admitted liability to pay damages or some
other sum of money to the claimant;
o the claimant has obtained judgment against
that defendant for damages to be assessed or
for a sum of money (other than costs) to be
assessed;
o the court is satisfied that, if the claim went to
trial, the claimant would obtain judgment for a
substantial amount of money (other than costs)
against the defendant from whom he is seeking
an order for an interim payment whether or not
that defendant is the only defendant or one of a
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
number of defendants to the claim;
the claimant is seeking an order for possession
of land (whether or not any other order is also
sought); and the court is satisfied that, if the
case went to trial, the defendant would be held
liable (even if the claim for possession fails) to
pay the claimant a sum of money for the
defendant’s occupation and use of the land
while the claim for possession was pending; or
in a claim in which there are two or more
defendants and the order is sought against any
one or more of those defendants, the court is
satisfied that, if the claim went to trial, the
claimant would obtain judgment for a
substantial amount of money (other than costs)
against at least one of the defendants (but the
court cannot determine which); and all the
defendants are either a defendant that is
insured in respect of the claim; a defendant
whose liability will be met by an insurer or the
Motor Insurers Bureau; or a defendant that is a
public body.
The court must not order an interim payment of
more than a reasonable proportion of the likely
amount of the final judgment
o The court must take into account the
claimant’s contributory negligence and any
relevant set-off or counterclaim
o Payments by instalment possible
o Interim payment net of state benefits
An interim payment should not cause an injustice
to the paying party and any such order should not
be disclosed to the trial judge until after judgment
of both liability and damages (unless defendant
consents)
SPECIFIC DISCLOSURE
Made in respect of specific documents or where a
party is in default of its standard disclosure
obligations
Court may order specific disclosure of documents
or a search and disclosure of documents revealed
by that search:
o Reasonably supposed to contain information
that will assist the applicant’s case or damage
the respondent’s case, or
o Which may lead to a train of enquiry which has
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
either of those consequences
Where a party believes that another party's
disclosure is inadequate, he can apply to the court
for an order for specific disclosure
Can be made anytime, even late in proceedings,
including at trial, but usually after standard
disclosure or before service of a party’s list of
documents (see section on disclosure)
Party seeking specific disclosure should make a
written and specified request to their opponent in
an attempt to effect disclosure before making
such an application
The application notice must specify the order that
the applicant intends to ask the court to make and
must be supported by evidence
o The class documents or extent of search must
be well-defined; if too broad, the class or search
may be refused
Court guidelines
o Specific disclosure must be necessary and
appropriate to the particular case
o The cost must be proportionate
o There must be no prejudice to a party’s ability
to continue the litigation
o The court must consider whether Part 18
Requests for Further Information eliminate the
need for a specific disclosure order
SECURITY FOR COSTS
Protects a party (usually a defendant) from an
opponent being unable to pay final litigation costs
if ordered to do so
o An application may only be made during
litigation (i.e. after proceedings are
commenced)
o Not available for small claims
o Must be sought alongside another application
Requires a party against whom an order is made
to pay money into court or provide an
enforceable bond
An order is discretionary and can be made by the
court on its own initiative; an application may be
made by a defendant or respondent against a
claimant or appellant or by a defendant against
someone other than the claimant
An application may not be made unless the court
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
considers it is just to make such an order and one
or more of the criteria are met
o The claimant is resident outside the jurisdiction
of the court (except residents of a Brussels
Contracting State);
o is a company or other body (whether
incorporated inside or outside Great Britain)
and there is reason to believe that it will be
unable to pay the defendant’s costs if ordered
to do so;
o the claimant has changed his address since the
claim was commenced with a view to evading
the consequences of the litigation;
o the claimant failed to give his address in the
claim form, or gave an incorrect address in that
form;
o the claimant is acting as a nominal claimant,
other than as a representative claimant under
Part 19, and there is reason to believe that he
will be unable to pay the defendant’s costs if
ordered to do so;
o the claimant has taken steps in relation to his
assets that would make it difficult to enforce an
order for costs against him
An order will only be made if it is just to do so
An application should be made promptly and the
notice should be served at least 3 clear days
before the hearing
INJUNCTIONS
Equitable discretionary remedy`
3 main types:
1. Prohibitory
2. Mandatory
3. Quia timet
Legal basis:
o s.37 of the Senior Courts Act 1981
o CPR 25
Either interim or final
Applications should be made on notice, unless
urgency / secrecy required
All injunctions available in the High Court /
County Court has limited jurisdiction
Legal principles to establish (all injunctions):
i.
locus standi
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
ii.
iii.
discretionary (equitable maxims must be
met)
Damages not adequate
For interim prohibitory injunctions (American
Cyanamid [1975]):
1. serious question to be tried?
2. damages would be an adequate remedy?
3. balance of convenience?
4. any special factors?
Note: there are certain situations where the courts have
varied, or not applied the American Cyanamid principles
including freezing and search orders.
For mandatory injunctions:
o Demonstrate the claimant would
otherwise suffer serious harm.
For quia timet injunctions:
o A need to restrain a threatened injury
where it is certain or imminent, or, where
mischief of an overwhelming nature is
likely.
Cross undertaking as to damages
Duty of disclosure – includes any additional facts
which should have been known if proper
enquiries had been made.
Breach of an injunction can be contempt of court
and punishable accordingly
Freezing Orders
Interim injunction that restrains a party from
disposing of or dealing with their assets
Purpose- preserve the defendant’s assets until
judgment can be enforced
Can be domestic or WFO
can be granted in respect of any known assets
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
held by the respondent up to the value of the
claim
may be made against a third party who holds assets on
behalf of the respondent
Conditions:
o
applicant must have a cause of action
o
good, arguable case
o
sufficient assets in existence to meet the claim
o
real risk of the disposal or dissipation of the
assets
In addition, applicant must:
o
provide an undertaking to the court to pay any
damages to the respondent if it is later shown
that the injunction should not have been
granted
o
give full and frank disclosure
Procedure – CPR 25 / PD25
Search Orders
Form of interim mandatory injunction
Requires a defendant to allow the claimant’s
representatives (not the claimant) to enter their
premises and search for, copy and remove
documents or material
Grounds:
1. Extremely strong prima facie case.
2. Damage potential or actual is very serious for the
applicant.
3. Documents or material cannot be obtained in any
other way.
4. Clear evidence that the defendants had in their
possession incriminating documents or things.
5. Real possibility that the defendants may destroy
such material before a notice application.
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
6. The harm likely to be caused by the execution of the
search order on the respondent in their business
affairs must not be out of proportion to the
legitimate object of the order.
In addition:
7. The applicant must make full disclosure.
Procedure including undertaking to the court and
strict rules for sercives – CPR 25
Breach – contempt of court
COURT HEARINGS
PAPER APPLICATIONS
Applications without a hearing, where determined
to be not needed by a judge (usually where
application is agreed or won’t affect the court
timetable); written submissions by parties only
Notice of application still to be given to opponent,
who may object if application not agreed
o If opponent objects, there is likely to be a
hearing
Once an application is made, if the judge decides
that the application does not need a hearing, they
may direct further evidence be submitted by the
parties
An application to vary or set aside an order must
be made within 7 days of the date of the order
IN-PERSON HEARINGS WITH NOTICE
Once an application is made, if the judge decides
that the application does need a hearing, they will
issue a notice of hearing with date, time, location
and additional filing of further evidence, if needed
May be attended by the fee earner counsel (more
complex hearings, where the representative sits
behind counsel to take notes and assist counsel)
or agent
May relate to on notice or ex parte (without
notice) applications
In the County Court, the court or the applicant
may serve the application formally on the
respondent; in the High Court, the applicant
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
usually serves
Attendance and conduct – county court
o Arrive in good time and dressed in business
attire
o Ascertain whether hearing is private or open
o Register your attendance, the party for whom
you act and your capacity with the usher
o Engage in pre-hearing discussion with
respondent/respondent’s representative as
appropriate
Note discussions in attendance note and be
careful of what you say, unless discussions
stated to be ‘without prejudice’
o Parties enter the hearing room together when
ready and called and proceed to make
submissions and answer questions as directed
by the judge
o Submissions should be structured, logical and
refer the judge to evidence in support and
relevant law and court powers
o Order will be made by judge on conclusion of
submissions and questions, with or without a
judgment and further directions. There then
follows a discussion/order on costs
o Form of address to a district judge: Sir/Madam
Attendance and conduct – Royal Courts of Justice
o Claim assigned to a master who will manage the
claim
o Arrive in good time and dressed in business
attire
o Short hearings of up to 30 minutes dealt with by
bulk list – the ‘Bear Garden’ list; applicants in
longer hearings must request a private room
appointment separate to but submitted with
the application notice
o Bear Garden
Parties receive endorsed application notice
with hearing time, Master allocated and
hearing room and present this to the
relevant usher
Hearing conducted as in district court
On conclusion, Master will return
application notice and draft endorsed order
(may or may not keep witness statements)
o Private room
Applicant must request a private room with
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
assigned master if the time estimate
indicates an appointment of longer than 30
minutes;
Master receives private room appointment
and lists hearing according to availability as
stated in request form and the master’s
diary
Hearing conducted as in district court
On conclusion, Master will return
application notice and draft endorsed order
(may or may not keep witness statements)
IN-PERSON HEARINGS WITHOUT NOTICE (EX PARTE)
Same procedure for making an application with
notice, but the applicant indicates in the
application form that the matter should be dealt
with without a hearing and does not serve the
application on the respondent, and if there is a
hearing the opponent will not be in attendance
You will need to explain fully the nature and
purpose of the application
TELEPHONE HEARINGS
Telephone hearings are hearings which take place
between the parties and the district judge by
telephone conference call (governed by PD 23A.6)
Reduces cost and time of hearings
Some hearings now conducted automatically by
telephone (most hearings with a time estimate of
less than one hour, except without notice
hearings, hearings where one or more of the
parties are not represented and a hearing at
which there are more than four separately legally
represented parties)
Hearings can be requested in writing to be by
telephone no less than 5 days before the hearing,
and hearings that would be conducted by
telephone can be requested to take place inperson, both of which at court’s discretion
Court will issue a notice of hearing stipulating that
it will be by telephone and provide details as well
as indicating which party is responsible for setting
up the hearing using one of the approved
telephone service providers
Once the telephone hearing is set up, conduct is
much the same as an in-person hearing
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
SETTLEMENT OFFERS UNDER PART 36 CPR
NATURE, FORM AND CONTENT
Prescribed form, genuine offer to settle whole or
part of claim and/or counterclaim, carrying
interest and costs consequences if they are
rejected, made without prejudice, except as to
costs
o Aside from the parties to the offer, they can
only be disclosed to a trial judge following the
conclusion of a matter when it comes to making
a costs order
Can be accepted at any time unless withdrawn or
amended by offeror
Can be made by claimant or defendant
Not permitted in cases allocated to the small
claims track
Acceptance within relevant period (no less than
21 days of offer being made) with it an agreement
by offeror to pay the costs of the action up to the
date of acceptance
Tactically, early, protective Part 36 offers, where
appropriate, protect defendant against costs
consequences of a prolonged pre-trial process
and the costs of the trial itself
Part 36 offers also help put pressure on parties,
turn minds to settlement or bring about a faster
resolution to a litigated claim or issues in a claim
than a trial
Acceptance of a Part 36 offer forms a binding
contract between the two parties, enforceable
within the same action
WHEN PART 36 OFFERS CAN BE MADE
Whole or part of Part 7 or 8 money or non-money
claims (including claims involving protected
parties) and Part 20 counterclaims or additional
claims, except small claims matters
o Can be made on a specific issue, including
liability alone
o Can be made at any point, including pre-action,
during trial and appeals
A Part 36 offer is made when served on the
offeree
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
CLARIFYING OFFERS
Request for clarification by offered must be made
within 7 days of the offer being made
Where no clarification received, offeree may
apply to the court for an order for clarification,
which will be heard by a judge who will have no
further involvement in the action
Requests and responses should be in writing on a
without prejudice basis
Where no clarification is provided, offer still valid
but offer or conduct may have costs
consequences
ACCEPTANCE, WITHDRAWAL, REJECTION AND
VARIATION
Offeree can accept offer in writing at any time
unless the trial has started, or an offer withdrawn
or amended by offeror in writing
o Need client instructions to accept or reject an
offer made
o Withdrawal or amendment during relevant
period requires permission of court
o Where offer amended or withdrawn, the
original offer cannot be accepted
o Withdrawn offer does not have the usual costs
consequences of Part 346 (but amended offer
will)
Where an offeree is a protected party or child,
acceptance not valid unless the court approves
the settlement
COSTS CONSEQUENCES
Pre-action Part 36 offers
Where not accepted, costs of pre-action work as
well as costs of litigation can be recovered if the
claimant is ultimately successful
Where accepted before issue of proceedings,
claimant can recover pre-action costs up to the
date of acceptance where acceptance occurred
before the claim was issued
Fully compliant Part 36 offers will have cost
consequences enforced automatically, except
where court considers it unjust to do so and for
any other offer (i.e. not fully Part 36 compliant or
offers specifically intended to be outside the remit
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
of Part 36) the court’s residual discretion (Part 44)
as to costs applies.
Claimant offers
Notice of acceptance (letter form) filed by the
defendant with the claimant and the court
Part or whole of claim to which the Part 36 offer
relates then stayed by the court
Costs consequences – acceptance
o Where accepted within relevant period,
defendant pays claimant’s costs up to the date
of acceptance, on the standard basis
o Where accepted outside the relevant period,
parties to try and agree on costs
In the absence of agreement, court likely to
order that defendant pays claimant’s costs
up to end of relevant period and after on
the standard basis
Defendant costs consequences – rejection
o Where offer rejected by the defendant,
claimant’s offer is not withdrawn – it can be
accepted by the defendant at a later date
o If a claimant’s offer is made more than 21 days
before trial, if claimant succeeds at trial and
awarded a sum the same or greater than the
Part 36 offer, claimant entitled to
Enhanced rate of interest (up to 10% above
base rate) on all or part of damages for
some or all of period from expiry of relevant
period to end of trial
Costs from expiry of relevant period on
indemnity basis (costs before expiry of
relevant period on standard basis); and
Interest on costs at enhanced rate
Additional penalty damages to a claimant
who has made a valid CPR offer, the
defendant did not accept the offer and the
court gave judgment for the claimant which
is at least as advantageous as the claimant’s
offer; rates subject to claim type and value
In relation to claims which are subject to the
fixed costs regime under Part 45, a claimant
that beats the rejected Part 36 offer will not
be limited to an award of fixed costs, but
will be awarded full assessed costs on an
indemnity basis.
o If a claimant is successful at trial but fails to beat
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
their own offer, costs decided in the usual way
per Rule 44 CPR
Defendant offers
Acceptance by a claimant in the same way as a
defendant accepts a claimant offer, except where
there are multiple parties, when claimant needs
court’s permission to accept
Where there is an offer to pay a lump sum, the
defendant must pay within 14 days of acceptance
unless parties agree an alternative time limit
o If not paid, judgment may be entered for the
unpaid sum and enforced accordingly
Costs consequences on acceptance similar to
claimant offers, except:
o Where a claimant accepts an offer outside the
relevant period, then unless parties agree
otherwise, claimant will pay defendant’s costs
from expiry of relevant period to date of
acceptance unless there are grounds to depart
from this rule
Costs consequences of a claimant rejecting a
defendant’s Part 36 offer
o Same rejection procedure as for a claimant offer
If a claimant fails to secure a more
advantageous judgment at trial (i.e. amount
less than or equal to Part 36 offer or as
considered by the court where the claim is
for an unspecified sum), court may award
the defendant’s costs on the standard basis
from expiry of relevant period, with or
without interest
Applicable even for Qualified One Way
Costs Shifting in personal injury cases
COURT DISCRETION ON COSTS
Court always has discretion on costs even with
Part 36 provisions, which will apply if the court
considers it just to do so, considering
o Part 36 terms and timing
o Information available to the parties when the
offer was made and the conduct of the parties
CLIENT CARE CONSIDERATIONS
Conduct risk assessment of case and consider
prospects of success
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
Discuss whether, when and what type of offer to
make, one conforming to and under the
provisions of Part 36 or global non-Part 36 offer to
settle, which can include an offer on costs (which
a Part 36 offer cannot)
Explain types and implications of offer
Ensure Part 36 offers fully compliant with Rule 36
CPR requirements
Seek clarification on client instructions to make a
Part 36 offer, if needed
Review terms of funding arrangements – CFA or
DBA – in relation to Part 36 offers
Advise on procedural and costs consequences of
making an offer and accepting or rejecting a Part
36 offer received from the other party
o Consider costs schedules to help client
understand
Consider counter-offers
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
DISCLOSURE AND INSPECTION – RULE 31
CPR
GENERAL
Purpose of disclosure is to provide details of all
relevant documents that support or undermine a
party's case
Disclosure and inspection is in furtherance of the
overriding objective by operating on the basis that
all information available to the court at trial will
already have been made available to the parties
Disclosure rules apply to fast-track and multi-track
cases
Disclosure = declaring the existence or identity of
a document
Inspection = permitting sight/review of disclosed
documents by the other party
A party may inspect a document which has been
disclosed, except where the document is no
longer in control of the party disclosing it or the
party has a right or duty to withhold inspection or
a party considers that inspection is
disproportionate to the issues in the case
Standard disclosure obligation: a party is required
to disclose only documents in his control (has or
had physical possession, has a right to possession,
inspection or to take copies) which are
o the documents on which he relies; and
o the documents which –
adversely affect his own case;
adversely affect another party’s case; or
support another party’s case; and
the documents which he is required to
disclose by a relevant practice direction
Except where privilege applies, the confidentiality
or commercial sensitivity of a document does not
excuse it from disclosure, if disclosable
Scope of disclosure beyond standard disclosure
can be extended or restricted by agreement of the
parties or order of the court
Disclosure can occur
o Pre-action for certain documents or classes, as
part of a pre-action protocol or negotiation
between parties or part of a pre-action
disclosure application
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
o
During proceedings after allocation, as one of
the first case progression steps ordered by the
court
May occur in stages, especially if there is a
split trial on liability and damages
The court makes an order for specific disclosure
On an ongoing basis by both sides until
proceedings are concluded – disclosable
documents that come to light after lists/reports
are filed, served and/or exchanged must be
disclosed to the other party immediately
Clients should be advised of disclosure
obligations, including ongoing duty of disclosure,
and duty to undertake a reasonable search for
relevant documents, early on to ensure protection
of documents
o If a client destroys disclosable documents, legal
representative must advise the court of the
same and the court may draw adverse
inferences
o Risk of wasted costs order against legal
representative who fails to properly supervise a
client’s undertaking of disclosure obligations
DOCUMENTS
Anything in which information of any description
is recorded (including electronically); and a copy
means anything onto which information recorded
in the document has been copied, by whatever
means and whether directly or indirectly
Extends to several different versions of a
document
REQUIREMENT TO UNDERTAKE A REASONABLE
SEARCH
Each party must make a reasonable and
proportionate search for documents, relative to
the importance, nature and value of the case as
well as cost and burden of searching for and
retrieving documents
Understanding and discharging that duty forms
part of the disclosure statement which must be
signed by a party
E-search and e-disclosure part of the search and
disclosure process, and the List of Documents
requires a party to specify the locations and types
of electronics documents searched
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
Where used, keyword searches should be
agreed between parties
In the event of a dispute as to extent of search
for e-disclosure, the proper application is one
for specific inspection, not specific disclosure
LISTS OF DOCUMENTS AND DISCLOSURE REPORTS
List of Documents = Form N265
o Standard form for indicating compliance with
disclosure obligations
o Contains a simple statement of truth
Party (party to action or appropriate person
representing the party with reasons as to
why they are the appropriate person) has
carried out a reasonable and proportionate
search to locate documents required to be
disclosed by the court, what was not
searched for, nature and extent of
electronic search, that the party
understands and has discharged the duty of
disclosure to the best of their knowledge
and that list of documents is complete,
along with confirmation of understanding of
ongoing duty of disclosure, as well as
identifying any documents disclosed but for
which inspection is withheld due to
inspection being disproportionate to the
issues in the case
o Sets out documents to which there is no
objection to inspection, documents for which
inspection is withheld and why (privilege
applies, or permitting inspection would be
disproportionate to the issues in the case) and
documents which the party no longer has in
their control and where those documents are
now (usually standard wording for second and
third sections)
Disclosure Report = Form N263
Used in non-personal injury multi-track cases
Must be completed at least 14 days before the
first case management conference
o Contains a full statement of truth
o The documents that do or may exist which are
or may be relevant to issues in the case
o Where and with whom the documents are
o How many electronic documents are stored
o Estimated costs for giving standard disclosure
o
o
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
(including electronic search and disclosure)
Appropriate directions orders which are sought
Statement must be signed by the 'party
disclosing the documents'
DISCLOSURE PROCESS
Small claims
o After allocation, court will impose limited
directions order, which will impose such limited
disclosure as the court feels proportionate to
the case
Fast track
o Order for standard disclosure usually made in
first directions order (agreed, on the court’s
own initiative or following an allocation
hearing/CMC – request for disclosure outside
standard disclosure should be discussed and
agreed where possible and contained in the
directions questionnaires of the parties)
o Order for disclosure will set down date for filing
with the court and exchanging between the
parties the lists of documents
Simultaneous, unilateral (where only one
party has disclosure obligations), or
sequential, depending on the nature and
circumstances of the case
o When the search and consideration and
preparation of lists is complete, parties will
confirm that they are ready to exchange/serve
lists, exchange or serve their lists, request and
then carry out inspection
Non multi-track PI cases
o Court will make a provisional decision as to
allocation and require parties to complete
directions questionnaire and prepare disclosure
report (with directions questionnaire or 14 days
before CMC)
o Menu of disclosure options from which the
parties can choose and agree for extent of
disclosure obligations, from basic disclosure
obligations through to detailed and extensive
obligations
o At CMC, parties to file a summary of matters
agreed and not agreed and include extent of
disclosure obligations
o Court can then make directions order and will
look to restrict extent of disclosure wherever
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
possible
Disclosure is an ongoing obligation and
continues until proceedings are concluded
Legal representative responsible for preparing the
list of documents and ensuring that disclosure is
properly completed
o Consider for each document the client provides
whether it is disclosable and whether the client
has a right or duty to withhold inspection of all
or part of the document
INSPECTION
On receipt of a list of documents, the legal
representative should review the list, raise any
concerns with the other party as to issues about
the search, e-disclosure, documents that should
be disclosed but have not been, or for which
inspection should be permitted but is withheld (or
make an application for specific disclosure as
needed) and make a written request inspection of
documents available for inspection, while also
ensuring compliance with the inspection request
made by the other party
Where an inspection request is made, the party
may require copies and agree to pay reasonable
(and agreed) copying charges
Client may or may not want to inspect documents
with or separate to their legal representative
Inspection time set out in the directions order and
is usually 7 days after disclosure
Inspection usually at the offices of the parties’
legal representatives unless the court orders or
parties seek an order for a different location
Where a document is not stated in the list to be a
copy, the assumption is that the document
available is the original
o Documents amended in any way from the
original are considered as separate documents
To save time and expense, consider serving a
notice to admit facts to put pressure on an
opponent following inspection (where the
documents your client has or are revealed on
inspection of the other party’s documents support
such a notice)
If a party fails to comply with inspection requests,
consider applying for an unless order to effect
compliance
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
PRIVILEGE
Permits a party an absolute right to withhold
inspection of documents from production to an
opponent, the court or a third party
o Privilege may be waived by the client and is lost
where the documents are subsequently
disclosed, exchanged or inspected (such as the
final version of witness statements) or referred
to in a statement of case
o A privileged document may be disclosed but
redacted in respect of privileged material and
the non-privileged information displayed, but if
referred to at trial, the redactions will have to
be removed and privilege over the rest of the
document waived unless the ‘separate subject
matter’ test is applied (i.e. waiver can only be
avoided where the remainder of the document
dealt with a separate subject)
The separate subject matter test does NOT
apply when deciding to withhold parts of an
otherwise non-privileged document
A party with a document to which privilege or
public interest immunity attaches may refuse to
participate in proceedings or comply with search
warrants or orders or answer questions by police
or other investigators so far as they relate to the
documents which are privileged or attract
immunity
Main privilege types
o Legal advice privilege
Communications between a lawyer, acting
in his capacity as a lawyer, and a client, are
privileged if they are both:
confidential
for the purpose of seeking legal advice
from a solicitor or providing it to a client
Where the client is a corporate entity, it is
not the entity itself, but a narrow group of
individuals employed by the entity charged
with seeking and receiving legal advice on
its behalf. Others outside this group
communicating matters relating to the legal
advice will not be covered by legal advice
privilege and risk jeopardising the
documents that would otherwise attract
privilege.
o Litigation privilege
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
o
o
o
81
Protects confidential communications made
after litigation has started, or is reasonably
in prospect, between either:
a lawyer and a client
a lawyer and an agent, whether or not
that agent is a lawyer
a lawyer and a third party
These communications must be for the sole
or dominant purpose of litigation, either:
for seeking or giving advice in relation
to it
for obtaining evidence to be used in it
for obtaining information leading to
obtaining such evidence
Attaches to communications themselves,
documents or materials used or created
from the communications or to provide the
advice (unless no longer confidential)
Common interest privilege
Operates to preserve privilege in documents
that are disclosed to third parties
Joint interest
Where a third party can establish a joint
interest with another party, they can assert
joint privilege if they subsequently fall out.
Privilege can only be jointly waived.
Privilege against self-incrimination
A person is entitled to refuse to give
evidence or disclose information if such
disclosure would increase the likelihood of
his being prosecuted for a criminal offence
or being subjected to a penalty
Public interest immunity
A party is entitled to withhold disclosure of
a document if disclosure would damage the
public interest
Without prejudice negotiations privilege
Applies to communications made explicitly
or implicitly without prejudice in a genuine
attempt to settle disputes
Reference to without prejudice
communications may not be made in
the main action, unless
- All parties consent to revealing the
existent and/or detail of
negotiations
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
-
-
A new agreement is formed
The communications are made
without prejudice except as to
costs, in which case they can be
referred to in costs hearings
Disclosure is sought by an individual
not party to proceedings in which
the negotiations took place
PRE-ACTION DISCLOSURE
Pre-action disclosure is contained in certain preaction protocols to encourage exchange of early
and full information about the prospective legal
claim, to avoid litigation and encourage
settlement and support efficient management of
proceedings where litigation is not avoided
Letters before action may set out documents
requested to be seen and a claimant may make an
application for pre-action disclosure, provided
that the application meets the requirements of
CPR 31.16
o The application is by and sought against parties
likely to be parties in a subsequent action,
relates to documents that fall within the
definition of standard disclosure and the
advance disclosure is necessary to dispose fairly
of the anticipated proceedings, save costs
and/or assist resolution of the dispute without
the need to commence proceedings.
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
DOCUMENTARY AND LAY WITNESS
EVIDENCE
BURDEN AND STANDARD OF PROOF
Burden of proof for each element or issue in a
claim rests on the claimant to prove
The burden of proof may be shifted by statute
(such as where breach of statutory duty is alleged)
or where allegations are asserted by the
defendant, such as contributory negligence on the
part of the claimant
The standard of proof is that of the balance of
probabilities (i.e. more likely than not)
Evidence in support or defence of allegations may
be oral, written or real
o But must be proportionate to the case,
considering value, complexity, allocation etc.
Irrelevant evidence, lay opinion evidence,
privileged evidence, communications that are
without prejudice or protected by public interest
immunity cannot be used or relied on at trial
WITNESS STATEMENTS
The court has wide discretion to exclude oral lay
and expert witness evidence
Witness statements are used in proceedings
except where an affidavit is specifically required
by a Practice Direction
Court may limit length or format of statements
and amount of witnesses
Witness statements are usually borne from a
‘proof of evidence’, a privileged and full account
of a client (claimant or defendant) or supporting
witness; the proof contains comments on the
statements and documents to be used as
evidence
Witness statements must only refer to the facts in
issue, cannot contain hearsay evidence and must
be in the prescribed form with a statement of
truth signed and dated by the witness making the
statement
There is no property in a witness – any party can
interview a witness already approached by
another party
o It is against professional conduct rules to
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
persuade a witness to change their evidence – if
a witness is associated with the other party, it’s
recommended that their legal representative
attend the interview
Statement requirements are set out in PD32 and
include matters such as
o Top right of statement must include party on
whose behalf statement is made, initial and
surname of witness, number of statement for
that particular witness, initial of witness and
number of exhibits and date of statement
o Numbered paragraphs
o Written in first person
o Standard introduction paragraph
o Statement of truth
Witness statements for interim applications have
similar requirements, but will usually be made by
the legal representative to the party making the
application, rather than the applicant themselves
o Where evidence is within the first-hand
knowledge of the party directly, an additional
witness statement by the party may be required
o The legal representative must state the capacity
in which they make the statement, what the
application is in support of, cite the relevant
sections of the CPR when making submissions
and identify the source of their information or
belief (as must a witness in a statement
referring to information they do not have firsthand knowledge of)
o When signing a witness statement as a legal
representative for the party you represent, add
to the statement of truth that you are duly
authorised by the claimant/defendant to sign
the statement
Documents to be used at trial should be exhibited
and referred to in the relevant witness statement,
with cover sheet and identifier for each document
Witness evidence must be disclosed to an
opponent in order to be used at trial, but the
court has discretion to allow a party to rely on
new evidence at trial
Witness evidence usually disclosed through
simultaneous exchange
o Extension by agreement but if it affects the
court timetable a party seeking an extension
may need to apply to the court for permission
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
and to vary the directions order as needed
Witness evidence unilaterally served for interim
applications
Receiving an opponent’s witness evidence gives a
good opportunity for case review, risk assessment
and settlement considerations, as well as
discussions with counsel for advice and the client
on how best to proceed
Receiving a witness statement in support of an
interim application gives a good opportunity to
consider the application and its merits, prepare a
response and prepare counsel for, or negotiate or
agree the outcome of the application
o Also consider serving a notice to admit facts;
o or notice to admit or produce documents
(where a document is challenged)
Witness summaries required where a witness
won’t provide a statement but will attend trial
o Requires permission of the court
o Must be served by date set for exchange of
witness statements
o Can be risky if the content of the witness’s
evidence isn’t yet known
HEARSAY EVIDENCE
‘Second hand’ evidence – court will consider six
factors set out by statute when deciding how
much weight to attach to hearsay evidence, which
may be given in the judgment to the action
Now classed as admissible evidence by virtue of
Civil Evidence Act 1995; hearsay is considered as a
statement made otherwise than by a person while
giving oral evidence in proceedings, tendered as
evidence of matters stated
In witness statements, a witness may include
comments in relation to what someone else told
them
o ‘Multiple hearsay’ where comment is from
person more than one person removed from
the original statement
Where a witness signs a statement but doesn’t
attend trial, the written statement may be tended
in lieu or oral evidence and constitutes hearsay
evidence
A party must serve notice of intention to adduce
hearsay evidence
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
Exchange of a witness statement by a witness
who will attend court constitutes notice
Separate formal required for evidence of a
witness who will not attend court, setting out
the hearsay evidence, reliance by the party and
reasons why the witness will not be called
A party served with a hearsay notice may apply
within 14 days to call the maker of the statement
to court for cross-examination, or serve a notice
to attack credibility within 14 days of service of
the hearsay notice, containing reasons why the
credibility of the witness will be attacked
Where a witness is in another jurisdiction, a court
may make a letter of request to a court in the
witnesses’ jurisdiction to take that witness’ oral or
written evidence
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
EXPERTS – RULE 35 CPR
GENERAL
Opinion evidence given by a qualified expert is an
exception to the general rule against opinion
evidence
Litigation expert’s duty is to the court, not the
instructing party
o Experts instructed to act for a party in a nonlitigation capacity (advisory, treating, etc.) owe
their duty to the instructing party
An expert is defined by the CPR as someone
instructed to give or prepare expert evidence for
the purpose of proceedings
o A single joint expert is one instructed to prepare
a report on behalf of two or more parties to
proceedings
An expert who can convince the court of their
expert knowledge, i.e. of an area or field generally
that beyond a layperson, i.e. qualifications (not
mandatory), extensive experience, detailed
technical knowledge etc.), can give expert
evidence
Experts need not have directly seen matters on
which they give evidence
Experts can give evidence based on opinion or
conclusions
o The opinion, inferences or conclusions depend
on special knowledge, skill or training that is not
within the ordinary experience of the judge
o The expert must be shown to be qualified as a
true expert in the particular field of expertise
o The expert must give evidence to a reasonable
degree of certainty regarding his opinion,
inferences or conclusions
o The expert must be able to demonstrate, or
persuade from scientific fact, the basis of his
opinion, inference or conclusions
Expert must have independence, integrity and
impartiality
o Experts with an interest in the outcome of the
case beyond what is proper will cause an
expert’s report and its contents to be
challenged; the expert may also be criticised in
the judgment
o Experts who act as an advocate may not have
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
their evidence allowed and may be criticised by
the judge for lacking independence
But where steps are taken to show an expert’s
independence, the court may allow an expert
with a close connection a party to give evidence
for that party in limited circumstances (but
generally such evidence will not be permitted)
Weight attached to an expert opinion to be
determined by judge
o Expert evidence does not automatically trump
lay witness evidence
USE OF EXPERT EVIDENCE IN AN ACTION
An expert, and party instructing them, must
understand and follow Rule 35 CPR and PD 35
o
Rule 32 CPR insofar as it relates to the court
controlling evidence, applies also to expert
evidence
Experts may be used pre-action
o
Party instructing an expert should follow the
specific pre-action protocol, or the Practice
Direction on Pre-Action Conduct
Parties should agree how to use an expert,
but ultimate decision lies with the claimant
If proceedings issued, expert evidence may only
be used if permission given by the court
o
Permission usually sought in directions
questionnaire for written evidence and
preliminary indication of whether oral evidence
required
o
Decision on permission to allow oral expert
evidence taken later by the court at an interim
application, CMC or when the pre-trial checklist
is filed
COURT CONSIDERATIONS AND DIRECTIONS
REGARDING EXPERT EVIDENCE
Court will consider whether expert evidence
required early on, usually on receipt of directions
questionnaire
o Court will consider the value of the claim,
complexity of issues, proportionality
For small claims, the cost of any expert
must not exceed £750
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
Whether expert evidence is needed at all is
considered first, followed by considerations as to
o Field in which the expert evidence will be
adduced (consider a short report from the
expert setting out the background of evidence
the expert can cover, to help persuade the court
and other party)
o Suitability of proposed expert (obtain CV etc.
and discuss with other party to see if any
objection)
o Whether there should be a single joint expert,
experts for both parties
o Cost of experts
Directions the court may make
o No expert evidence
o Single joint expert evidence permitted
Directions will provide for permission, joint
instructions, agreement of the expert by the
parties (with an application for further
directions or nomination by an independent
body as to the single joint expert in the
absence of agreement, dates for
instructions to be given and the report to be
prepared and served, a period for written
questions to the expert by either party and
a timeline for response, and directions as to
apportionment of single joint expert’s fees
between the parties)
o Each party may instruct its own expert
Issues to be covered will be defined (or
subject to a further CMC) and similar
directions as above but applying to the
respective experts and their reports, as well
as whether oral evidence is permitted (or
the decision reserved until closer to trial)
Experts may ask the court for directions
A party seeking expert oral evidence must
establish that
o It will have an impact on the outcome of the
case
o It will assist the judge
o There is a risk of injustice if it is not allowed; or
o The costs of oral evidence are not
disproportionate
An expert giving oral evidence must be
summoned by the party seeking to rely on them
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
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Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
and should be briefed as to what to expect at trial
EXPERT CAPACITY IN A MATTER
Expert adviser
o Not the same as an expert witness
o May assist with pre-action (but unlikely to be
considered independent and thus able to be
called as an expert witness) or post-issue
technical issues
If subsequently sought as a single joint or
party expert, previous communications may
be directed to be disclosed
o Costs not always recoverable
Treating expert
o Expert that treats a party pre-action owes duty
to that party (cannot be litigation witness, else
conflict between duty to treating party and duty
to the court)
Records and report disclosable
If called to give oral evidence, will be a
witness of fact
Rehabilitation expert
o Rehabilitation Code encourages co-operation
between an injured claimant’s solicitors and
insurers of defendant to have claimant
rehabilitated as soon as possible
o Provides for joint independent assessment of
immediate needs of claimant by treating
medical expert or independent agency
Report is outside of the litigation process
Any subsequent treatment of the claimant
as a result of the report by an expert will
yield that treating expert to owe a duty to
the treating party, not to the courts as a
litigation expert
Single joint expert
o See above
o In the fast track, there will be a single joint
expert unless there is a good reason not to have
one
o Unlikely to be a single joint expert where expert
evidence is crucial to liability (high-value cases
or clinical negligence)
o Parties may send separate instructions to single
joint expert, but must send a copy of
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
instructions and correspondence with the
expert to the other party
Letter of instruction should ideally be
agreed
Parties joint and severally liable for expert’s fees
(which may be capped) subject to court’s
direction otherwise
Expert’s fees still included in final costs
order
Party expert
Each party engages their own expert on an
issue, with permission of the court
o The parties may be asked to prepare a joint
statement, setting out the issues on which they
agree, and the issues as to which they disagree
and why
o
Agreed expert
o An expert stipulated in the Personal Injury
Protocol retained by and for one of the parties
pre-action, to whom the other party may raise
questions
Role in ADR
o Experts may be asked to explain differences in a
joint statement for mediation
Such a statement is disclosable in
proceedings; privilege is not attracted just
because it is used in mediation
CHOOSING AND INSTRUCTING AN EXPERT
Expert’s retainer should include the nature and
extent of their appointment, capacity and services
required, the time for delivery of the report and
the basis of fees and disbursements
o Instruction letter (or separate retainer letter, as
appropriate) should also include relevant court
orders relating to permission for use of expert
evidence and when the report should be served
by, any expert evidence already disclosed by the
other party and relevant documentation to help
the expert prepare their report along with basic
information, contact details, chronology and
specific issues to be commented on
It’s recommended to enclose a copy of Rule
35 CPR and PD35 even if the expert witness
has extensive litigation experience, along
with a reminder of the importance of the
expert’s duty to the court and the need for
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
the report to contain a signed statement of
truth and the consequences of making a
false statement of truth, to cover all bases
and ensure you have shown you have taken
all steps to comply with Rule 35 CPR and
there can be no question as to the expert’s
duties and requirements
Be careful about including privileged
documents or information in the
instructions – see below
Where a party applies for further expert evidence
due to an unfavourable expert, the court may
require the original expert’s report to be disclosed
as a condition of permission to use additional
expert witness evidence
Various sources to locate experts depending on
claim type and specialism: client, other lawyers,
specialist organisations and directories etc.
Check expert’s CV, references, expert witness
experience, respect in their field, any conflicts or
potential conflicts and availability (for the report
and trial window, as appropriate)
Report should contain a recital of the expert’s
relevant qualifications, experience and
accreditation, a statement setting out the
substance of all instructions received, questions
to be addressed, materials provided and
information or assumptions that are material,
details as to investigation , methodology, tests
etc., dealing with any range of opinions on the
issues, annex relevant extracts of literature the
expert may rely on and which may assist the court
and a statement of compliance of the expert’s
duty to the court along with the statement of
truth
On receipt of or before sending a party’s expert
report, check its compliance with CPR 35, that it
addresses all issues, there is full disclosure of
documents relied on, any discrepancies or
inconsistencies in lay evidence are addressed and
opinions are given only on issues within the
expert’s expertise
Written questions to an expert – where
permission is given by the court to put them should be proportionate to the issues identified in
the case
o Questions may be put once within 28 days of
receipt of the report and must be for the
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
purpose of clarifying the report, subject to the
court modifying these provisions
The expert’s answers to questions form part of
their report
Where an expert fails to answer, the party
putting the questions may apply to the
court to compel the expert to answer the
questions, debar the expert’s evidence
and/or provide that the expert’s costs shall
not be recoverable by the engaging party
(party putting the questions initially bears
the expert costs of answering the questions)
EXPERT IMMUNITY
Expert immunity in dispute and currently unclear
PRIVILEGE
Report attracts litigation privilege if applicable
May be used in cross-examination of another
party’s expert if not used in evidence, to test the
strength of the other party’s evidence
When disclosed to another party, privilege is
waived
o But a report disclosed in one action retains
privilege in respect of another action and
cannot be ordered to be disclosed
Expert advice given in an advisory capacity
attracts privilege
A joint expert statement does not attract privilege
An expert report in personal injury claims must be
disclosed when proceedings are issued
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
TRIAL AND POST-TRIAL
PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
Comply with SRA Principles and Code of Conduct,
and in particular always remember that your duty
to the court outweighs your duty to the client
ON RECEIPT OF NOTICE OF TRIAL
Inform the client and ensure they are available.
Discuss costs and settlement considerations
Diarise trial date
Issue and serve witness summonses at least 7
days before the trial date for the witnesses and
experts who will be giving oral evidence
o If a witness isn’t summonsed, they are not
obliged to appear and a judge may debar their
evidence; you will be in breach of the SRA Code
of Conduct may face a wasted costs order and
negligence claim; the witness may also be fined
or found in contempt of court
o Witnesses' reasonable expenses and
compensation for loss of time ('conduct money')
must be enclosed or offered with the summons
– you can also agree with the witness to cover
expenses after the event
o Three copies must be sent to the court along
with a fee
Contact and instruct counsel if so required
For professional conduct reasons, instruct the
most suitable and appropriate trial counsel
May or may not be the same counsel
retained for interim applications or
providing advice
o Confirm availability and fees (including refresher
fee) and book counsel
o Draft instructions to counsel and send
o
PRE-TRIAL PREPARATION
Prepare any remote witness evidence (video link
etc., where permission given), IT/audio/video
equipment to present evidence (where
permission given), interpreters and other tools
Prepare daily transcripts for longer trials
Prepare witnesses of fact
o Advise of court location, address, directions and
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
o
that they arrive in good time for trial
Advise of attire, process for giving evidence and
what to expect
Consider witness training where appropriate
Prepare trial timetable and costs schedules,
skeleton arguments, lists of authorities, case
summary and chronology
Prepare trial bundles – agree index in advance
with counsel and other side
o Claimant responsible for preparing and filing
trial bundles
o Contains all statements of case, court orders,
witness and documentary evidence, notices and
other documents as the case requires or the
court directs
o Do NOT include Part 36 offers!
Discuss with counsel or senior fee earner as to
whether to make a final Part 36 offer
Review funding cover
Check all documentation up to date and disclosed
where relied on
TRIAL
Arrive at court early and secure a conference
room
Meet witnesses as they arrive
o Remind them that they cannot discuss the case
with either party or legal team
Confer with counsel as needed and appropriate –
counsel will also likely meet with the other side’s
counsel and may make recommendations
Follow court etiquette
Use correct mode of address
Court will usually sit between 10am-4pm
Usual format
o Claimant and defendant opening submissions
o Preliminary issues
o Claimant’s witnesses of fact and expert
evidence, followed by defendant’s crossexamination
o Defendant’s witnesses of fact and expert
evidence, followed by claimant’s crossexamination
o Closing submissions of the claimant and
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
defendant
Make appropriate use of non-leading
(examination in chief) / leading (crossexamination) questions
Take a detailed attendance note
Take instructions from clients as unforeseen
events or developments arise
POST-TRIAL
Judgment
o May be handed down immediately or judge may
retire to consider judgment and deliver later in
the day, or judgment may be reserved to a later
date
o Where judgment reserved and draft judgments
released, they are usually embargoed; parties
check for typos as well as consider whether to
seek consequential orders or permission to
appeal
o Takes effect from the day when it is given or
made by the court, or such later date as the
court may specify
o The time for complying with a judgment or
order for the payment of an amount of money
(including costs) is generally within 14 days of
the date of the judgment or order
o Clerical mistakes in judgments or orders, or
errors arising from any accidental slip or
omission, may at any time be corrected by the
court. A party may apply for a correction
without notice. There is no time limit for such
an application
Costs
o Counsel for both parties will make
representations, seeking an order for costs or
opposing such an order or parts of an order as
appropriate
o If the matter needs a separate costs hearing
(standard or detailed assessment), costs may be
reserved to a separate hearing
APPEALS
Governed by Rule 52 CPR for County Court, High
Court and Court of Appeal
Separate procedure for Supreme Court
Permission to appeal must be sought at first
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
instance from the trial judge (oral submission); if
unsuccessful, permission to appeal (Appellant’s
Notice) plus application for permission must be
filed at the relevant appeal court within 21 days
after the date of the decision of the lower court
(date of judgment) (28 days for judicial review
permission appeals from the Upper Tribunal)
o If unsuccessful, decision refusing permission
may be reconsidered at an oral hearing, which
must be applied for within 7 days after service
of notice of refusal of permission to appeal
Appeal will only be granted if the prospect has a
real prospect of success or some other reason
why the appeal should be heard
Appeal on the basis that the lower court’s
decision was wrong in fact or law, or unjust due to
a serious procedural issue
Appeal documents
o Appellant’s Notice (Form N161, N164 for small
claims) x3 and fee
o Copy of sealed order under appeal
o Skeleton arguments and bundle, where required
o Application for permission to appeal and
grounds, where permission not granted or
applied for
Respondent’s Notice (N162) only required if
permission for cross-appeal sought or respondent
seeks the original decision to be upheld
Appeal hearing restricted to decision of the lower
court, except where the court believes a rehearing
is in the interests of justice to have a rehearing or
there is provision in statute or the relevant
Practice Direction
Appeal court has discretion over costs of the
appeal as well as in relation to the lower court
Either party may apply for a transcript of the
lower court’s judgment at the public expense
(where they can show financial need)
Part 36 offers can be made in relation to the costs
of an appeal, but a first instance offer doesn’t
relate to the costs of a subsequent appeal
CLAIM DISPOSED OF WITHOUT TRIAL
Settled before proceedings issued
o Settlement must be recorded in writing, usually
be letter or compromise agreement
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
Claims involving a child or protected party can
be settled but will not be discharged until the
court approves the settlement via way of an
order issued out of a Part 8 claim form
(obtaining a valid discharge is optional but
recommended)
Settlements reached after claim issued but before
trial
o Consent order will need to be prepared to
reflect the terms of the settlement – care must
be taken to ensure all parties understand what
they are agreeing to
Consent order should also make provision
for cost
A settlement is a binding contract, and an
innocent party is entitled to issue fresh
proceedings in case of breach of contract
o Tomlin orders contain an order which confirms
settlement, stays proceedings, permits
enforcement proceedings in the same action if
the order including terms is not complied with
and that the terms are set out in the annexed
schedule or settlement agreement, which often
contains a confidentiality clause (but court may
sometimes order the disclosure of the order;
where this is an issue, state in the order that the
terms are confidential and not to be filed at
court)
Where an action involving a child or protected
party is settled before trial, the court must
approve the settlement else the settlement won’t
be valid
o Court will also give directions on how money is
to be dealt with – usually paid into Court of
Protection or paid into court for investment
Proceedings discontinued by a claimant
o Claim abandoned
o Defendant has automatic entitlement to costs
for whole of action or part discontinued
Court has discretion to reduce costs liability,
but this is rare
o Permission required where the claim is multiparty
98
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
ENFORCING JUDGMENTS
GENERAL
Enforcement proceedings not always successful
Depends on recoverability options and debtor’s
ability to pay
Further costs will be incurred and added on to
judgment debt, which may simply be throwing
good money after bad
Accordingly, the merits or otherwise of
enforcement proceedings should always be
discussed with the client beforehand
INTEREST ON JUDGMENT DEBTS
Interest on high and county court debts from date
of judgment in respect of damages or consent
order (de minimis threshold for county court
judgments)
Rate varies by statutory instrument (currently 8%
per annum for high court debts and debts of
£5,000 or more)
Calculation may involve multiple interest rates
over a period of time
Additional considerations apply for county court
judgment debts related to deferments,
enforcement method chosen and enforcement of
accrued interest
POST JUDGEMENT
Party pursuing debt is the judgment creditor,
party owing the debt is the judgment debtor
Judgments not automatically enforced if unpaid;
enforcement is a step which must be initiated by
the party seeking payment
Judgment in force for 6 calendar years from date
of judgment, with some exceptions (third party
debt orders and charging orders)
o After this period, court permission required for
enforcement
If judgment paid within one month of date of
judgment, court may be requested to cancel entry
of judgment debt against judgment debtor in
Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines
(judgments so recorded can adversely affect a
party’s credit score)
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
If paid after one month, judgment debt is
recorded but marked as satisfied but it will remain
for six years
Proceedings may be transferred for enforcing a
judgment debt where it is to be enforced in the
High Court and the claim was issued in the county
court, or vice versa, or where a county court
judgment needs to be transferred to the debtor’s
home court to effect a particular type of
enforcement
INVESTIGATIONS AND INFORMATION HEARINGS
Identify debtor’s location and assets
o Can be done through an enquiry agent or
through own efforts
o Bankruptcy or company searches, as
appropriate
o Telephone directories
o Royal Mail tracing service
o Companies House
o Statutory records
o Trade associations and clubs
o Electoral roll/business rates listings
o Land Registry
Information hearings
o Used where judgment creditor unable to obtain
information about nature of judgment debtor’s
assets
o Judgment debtor required to attend court to be
examined as to means by
an officer of the court
Standard questions, replies recorded
and judgment debtor signs
Judgment creditor may attend and ask
questions, which should be set out in
application notice
- Fixed costs may be awarded where
judgment creditor attends
a judge
Judgment creditor’s legal representative
asks questions
Hearing tape-recorded
Judge may make summary assessment
of costs
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
Order to attend served personally on the
judgment debtor where an application is
successful, endorsed with a penal notice,
carrying a potential prison sentence for
contempt of court if they fail to attend
ENFORCEMENT OPTIONS
Writ of Control (High Court)/warrant of control
(county court)
o Do not require a judicial decision
o Can be combined with other enforcement
methods
o Judgment debt recovered by threat to or sale of
judgment debtor’s goods
o Order will be made in the court in which
judgment was obtained, subject to certain
conditions being met
o In some cases, judgment creditor may choose
whether to proceed in High Court or county
court
o Execution involves entry on to debtor’s
premises, seizing and securing of goods (some
items can’t be seized)
Attachment of earnings order
o Employer of judgment debtor must make
regular payments into court from debtor’s
earnings
o De minimis debt threshold and only available in
the county court
o Exclusive enforcement method which does not
attract interest on the judgment debt while in
force
Third party debt order (governed by CPR 72)
o Court may order an independent third party (i.e.
bank or trade debtor) who holds or owes money
to judgment debtor to pay the outstanding
amount to judgment creditor instead
o May not be appropriate in some cases
o Difficult to pursue successfully but can be used
with another method of enforcement
o Process involves interim and final orders, both
dealt with by district judge from the court
where the judgment was secured
o Interim or final orders issued may be objected
to by the third party if they claim not to owe the
judgment debtor the sum specified or any sum
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
Charging order (governed by Charging Orders Act
1979 and CPR 73)
o Can be made in the county court or High Court
(if amount concerned exceeds £5,000)
o Charging order makes judgment creditor a
secured creditor of the judgment debtor
o Can be made against land (registerable for
registered land but unregisterable for
unregistered land, where a different process
applies) or beneficial interest in defined
securities or a partner’s interest in partnership
property
o Once an order for sale is applied for (Part 8) and
granted and the debt against which the
property is secured is more than £1,000, the
property will be sold and the judgment creditor
will realise their security
o Process involves interim and final orders
o Can be issued on securities
o Can be issued on partnership interest in
partnership property
Sequestration
o Form of contempt proceedings available both in
the High Court and in the county court
o Can be used only in injunction-type orders
Judgment Summons
o Procedure for punishing the judgment debtor by
imprisonment for a period of time
Bankruptcy/winding up order
o Not enforcement proceedings but used to put
pressure on judgment debtor
o Specific procedures to be followed
o If one is obtained, judgment creditor is
unsecured and joins line of creditors
May not get all or even some of judgment
satisfied
Order against disobedient party
o Where party has not complied with mandatory
order, injunction, or specific performance
o Court can order another person to do the act
not done, where practicable; either the other
party, or a third party
Debt relief orders (DROS)
o Alternative to bankruptcy order to parties
meeting set criteria
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
o
Moratorium on claims by creditors included in
the debt relief order, which is valid for one year
OVERSEAS CONSIDERATIONS
Courts of England and wales may recognise and
enforce foreign judgments
At common law, a foreign judgment gives rise to
an implied contract enforceable in the English
courts where
o the defendant was present in the foreign
country when the claim was issued in England
and Wales
o or agrees to submit to the jurisdiction of the
foreign court
Proceedings are issued, followed by an application
for summary judgment (some defences available)
Commonwealth judgments may be registered and
enforced in England and Wales within 12 months
of the date of judgment
Judgments obtained in EU countries with
reciprocal agreements with England and Wales
may be registered and enforced within six years of
the judgment
Judgments issued by contracting states to the
Lugano Convention may be registered and
enforced in the UK, subject to the provisions of
the Brussels Convention and regulations
Judgments may be enforced outside England and
Wales where
o It is a contested judgment
If the court concerned recognises an English
judgment, no new proceedings required,
else fresh proceedings on the judgment
must be issued in the foreign court
o Judgment is uncontested; judgment creditor
may obtain a European Enforcement Order
(EEO) certificate for enforcement of the
judgment in an EU member state (this is now
retained EU law)
Cross-border mediation agreements may be
enforced in England and Wales
o Confidentiality is still maintained
ADVISING A JUDGMENT DEBTOR
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Negotiate with judgment creditor for payment in
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QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
Revision Notes – Dispute Resolution
instalments or apply for instalment order
Consider whether the debtor can apply to have
the judgment set aside
Consider applying for administration order –
court-administered debt management scheme
where certain criteria are met
Negotiate with judgment creditor for reduction of
debt to a lesser final amount
104
QLTS School Ltd. All Rights Reserved. For Your Sole Use Only. Should Not Be
Shared With Any Third Parties – S/N 534901
