DISPUTE RESOLUTION NOTES
Different Options for Dispute Resolution ............................................................................................................8
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) ..................................................................................................................8
Mediation .............................................................................................................................................................9
Procedure .........................................................................................................................................................9
Advantages .......................................................................................................................................................9
Disadvantages ..................................................................................................................................................9
Enforcement ...................................................................................................................................................10
Arbitration ..........................................................................................................................................................10
Advantages .....................................................................................................................................................10
Disadvantages ................................................................................................................................................10
Enforcement ...................................................................................................................................................10
Litigation ............................................................................................................................................................10
The civil courts............................................................................................................................................... 11
The parties ...................................................................................................................................................... 11
Court personnel .............................................................................................................................................. 11
An overview of a civil claim .............................................................................................................................. 11
STAGE 1: Pre-commencement - Preliminary considerations and pre-action steps ....................................... 11
STAGE 2: Commencement of the action - Issue and serve claim form and particulars of claim. Defendant
files defence. Court sends directions questionnaire .......................................................................................12
STAGE 3: Case management - Court allocates the claim to a track:.............................................................12
STAGE 4: Trial - The trial takes place ...........................................................................................................12
STAGE 5: Post-trial - Includes appeals, enforcement, and (for multi-track) detailed assessment of costs ...12
Resolving a Dispute Through a Civil Claim ......................................................................................................13
Limitation ...........................................................................................................................................................13
Effect of limitation .........................................................................................................................................13
Limitation periods ..........................................................................................................................................13
Parties to a claim ................................................................................................................................................14
Who is the defendant? ....................................................................................................................................14
Where is the defendant? .................................................................................................................................14
Status of the defendant ...................................................................................................................................14
Determining whether worth suing..................................................................................................................15
Special considerations apply if a party is not an individual over 18 or is a protected party ..........................15
Types of claims ..............................................................................................................................................15
Case analysis ......................................................................................................................................................15
Pre-action procedure ..........................................................................................................................................16
Governing law ....................................................................................................................................................17
Relevant Contract Law ........................................................................................................................................19
Express terms .....................................................................................................................................................19
Implied terms .....................................................................................................................................................20
Expectation and Reliance Loss ..........................................................................................................................22
Types of loss recoverable ...................................................................................................................................23
, Frustration ..........................................................................................................................................................23
Commencing Proceedings ...................................................................................................................................26
The civil courts...................................................................................................................................................26
Choice of court ...............................................................................................................................................26
The County Court...........................................................................................................................................26
The High Court ..............................................................................................................................................26
The Business and Property Courts .................................................................................................................26
Issuing proceedings ............................................................................................................................................27
Completing the claim form ................................................................................................................................27
Heading (A)....................................................................................................................................................27
Details of the parties (B) ................................................................................................................................27
Brief details of claim (C) ...............................................................................................................................27
Defendant’s name and address for service (E) ...............................................................................................28
Financial summary of the claim (F) ...............................................................................................................28
Preferred County Court hearing centre (G)....................................................................................................28
Witnesses (H) .................................................................................................................................................28
Human rights (l) .............................................................................................................................................28
Particulars of claim (J) ...................................................................................................................................28
Statement of truth (K) ....................................................................................................................................28
Claimant’s address for service .......................................................................................................................29
Adding, removing or substituting parties ...........................................................................................................29
Service of the claim form ...................................................................................................................................29
Where to serve? ..............................................................................................................................................30
When to serve? ...............................................................................................................................................30
Service of the particulars of claim .....................................................................................................................30
Deemed service ..................................................................................................................................................30
Service out of the jurisdiction ............................................................................................................................30
Responding to a Claim .........................................................................................................................................32
Admissions .........................................................................................................................................................32
Specified claims .............................................................................................................................................32
Unspecified claims .........................................................................................................................................32
Calculating time .................................................................................................................................................32
Acknowledgment of service...............................................................................................................................33
The defence ........................................................................................................................................................33
Default judgment................................................................................................................................................33
Procedure .......................................................................................................................................................33
Types of default judgment ..............................................................................................................................33
Setting aside a default judgment ....................................................................................................................34
Discontinuance ...................................................................................................................................................34
General provisions .........................................................................................................................................35
Procedure .......................................................................................................................................................35
Pre-action settlements ........................................................................................................................................35
, Settlements reached after the issue of proceedings ............................................................................................35
Consent orders................................................................................................................................................35
Tomlin orders .................................................................................................................................................35
Disputing the court’s jurisdiction .......................................................................................................................36
Some Unit 3 Consolidated Notes .........................................................................................................................36
Statements of Case ...............................................................................................................................................38
Overview ........................................................................................................................................................38
Requirements and formalities ........................................................................................................................38
Professional conduct ......................................................................................................................................38
Claim form .........................................................................................................................................................38
Particulars of claim ............................................................................................................................................38
Purpose of the particulars of claim ................................................................................................................38
Contents of the particulars of claim ...............................................................................................................39
Defence ..............................................................................................................................................................40
Purpose of the defence ...................................................................................................................................40
Contents of the defence ..................................................................................................................................41
Counterclaims and additional claims .................................................................................................................41
Counterclaims ................................................................................................................................................41
Additional claims ...........................................................................................................................................41
Reply to defence.................................................................................................................................................42
Defence to counterclaim ....................................................................................................................................42
Requests for further information ........................................................................................................................42
Procedure .......................................................................................................................................................42
Amendments to statements of case ....................................................................................................................42
Before service of proceedings ........................................................................................................................43
After service of proceedings ..........................................................................................................................43
Interim Applications ............................................................................................................................................44
Purpose of interim applications..........................................................................................................................44
Types of interim applications .............................................................................................................................44
Procedure ...........................................................................................................................................................44
Where to make the application.......................................................................................................................44
Content ...........................................................................................................................................................44
Draft order ......................................................................................................................................................45
Service ............................................................................................................................................................45
Consent orders................................................................................................................................................45
Applications made on notice ..........................................................................................................................45
Applications made without notice..................................................................................................................45
Telephone hearings and video conferencing ..................................................................................................46
Interim costs orders ............................................................................................................................................46
Summary judgment ............................................................................................................................................46
No real prospect .............................................................................................................................................47
No other compelling reason ...........................................................................................................................47
, Procedure .......................................................................................................................................................47
Possible orders ...............................................................................................................................................47
Costs ...............................................................................................................................................................48
Interim injunctions .............................................................................................................................................48
General principles ..........................................................................................................................................48
Timing ............................................................................................................................................................48
Prohibitory injunctions and mandatory injunctions .......................................................................................48
Guidelines used by the court for interim prohibitory injunctions ..................................................................48
Procedure .......................................................................................................................................................49
Interim payments................................................................................................................................................50
Timing ............................................................................................................................................................50
Procedure .......................................................................................................................................................50
Conditions to be satisfied ...............................................................................................................................50
Orders .............................................................................................................................................................51
Effect on the trial ............................................................................................................................................51
Case Management ................................................................................................................................................52
Managing cases in accordance with the overriding objective............................................................................52
Vulnerable parties and witnesses ...................................................................................................................52
Equality of arms .............................................................................................................................................52
Allocation to a track ...........................................................................................................................................53
Provisional allocation .....................................................................................................................................53
Directions questionnaire and other documents ..............................................................................................53
Which track? ..................................................................................................................................................54
Small claims track ..........................................................................................................................................54
Fast track ........................................................................................................................................................55
Intermediate track ..........................................................................................................................................55
The court’s approach to case management on the fast and intermediate tracks.............................................56
Multi-track .....................................................................................................................................................56
The case management conference (and the costs and case management conference) ...................................57
Case summary ................................................................................................................................................57
Directions on the multi-track .........................................................................................................................58
Failure to comply with directions ......................................................................................................................58
Costs management .............................................................................................................................................58
Costs budgets .................................................................................................................................................59
Failure to file a costs budget on time .............................................................................................................60
Costs management order ................................................................................................................................60
Summary of case and costs management (contains some information not in the above) ..............................60
Court sanctions ...................................................................................................................................................61
Striking out a statement of case .....................................................................................................................61
Other sanctions ...............................................................................................................................................61
Relief from sanctions .....................................................................................................................................61
Summaries of Parts 26 and 29 CPR ...................................................................................................................63
Different Options for Dispute Resolution ............................................................................................................8
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) ..................................................................................................................8
Mediation .............................................................................................................................................................9
Procedure .........................................................................................................................................................9
Advantages .......................................................................................................................................................9
Disadvantages ..................................................................................................................................................9
Enforcement ...................................................................................................................................................10
Arbitration ..........................................................................................................................................................10
Advantages .....................................................................................................................................................10
Disadvantages ................................................................................................................................................10
Enforcement ...................................................................................................................................................10
Litigation ............................................................................................................................................................10
The civil courts............................................................................................................................................... 11
The parties ...................................................................................................................................................... 11
Court personnel .............................................................................................................................................. 11
An overview of a civil claim .............................................................................................................................. 11
STAGE 1: Pre-commencement - Preliminary considerations and pre-action steps ....................................... 11
STAGE 2: Commencement of the action - Issue and serve claim form and particulars of claim. Defendant
files defence. Court sends directions questionnaire .......................................................................................12
STAGE 3: Case management - Court allocates the claim to a track:.............................................................12
STAGE 4: Trial - The trial takes place ...........................................................................................................12
STAGE 5: Post-trial - Includes appeals, enforcement, and (for multi-track) detailed assessment of costs ...12
Resolving a Dispute Through a Civil Claim ......................................................................................................13
Limitation ...........................................................................................................................................................13
Effect of limitation .........................................................................................................................................13
Limitation periods ..........................................................................................................................................13
Parties to a claim ................................................................................................................................................14
Who is the defendant? ....................................................................................................................................14
Where is the defendant? .................................................................................................................................14
Status of the defendant ...................................................................................................................................14
Determining whether worth suing..................................................................................................................15
Special considerations apply if a party is not an individual over 18 or is a protected party ..........................15
Types of claims ..............................................................................................................................................15
Case analysis ......................................................................................................................................................15
Pre-action procedure ..........................................................................................................................................16
Governing law ....................................................................................................................................................17
Relevant Contract Law ........................................................................................................................................19
Express terms .....................................................................................................................................................19
Implied terms .....................................................................................................................................................20
Expectation and Reliance Loss ..........................................................................................................................22
Types of loss recoverable ...................................................................................................................................23
, Frustration ..........................................................................................................................................................23
Commencing Proceedings ...................................................................................................................................26
The civil courts...................................................................................................................................................26
Choice of court ...............................................................................................................................................26
The County Court...........................................................................................................................................26
The High Court ..............................................................................................................................................26
The Business and Property Courts .................................................................................................................26
Issuing proceedings ............................................................................................................................................27
Completing the claim form ................................................................................................................................27
Heading (A)....................................................................................................................................................27
Details of the parties (B) ................................................................................................................................27
Brief details of claim (C) ...............................................................................................................................27
Defendant’s name and address for service (E) ...............................................................................................28
Financial summary of the claim (F) ...............................................................................................................28
Preferred County Court hearing centre (G)....................................................................................................28
Witnesses (H) .................................................................................................................................................28
Human rights (l) .............................................................................................................................................28
Particulars of claim (J) ...................................................................................................................................28
Statement of truth (K) ....................................................................................................................................28
Claimant’s address for service .......................................................................................................................29
Adding, removing or substituting parties ...........................................................................................................29
Service of the claim form ...................................................................................................................................29
Where to serve? ..............................................................................................................................................30
When to serve? ...............................................................................................................................................30
Service of the particulars of claim .....................................................................................................................30
Deemed service ..................................................................................................................................................30
Service out of the jurisdiction ............................................................................................................................30
Responding to a Claim .........................................................................................................................................32
Admissions .........................................................................................................................................................32
Specified claims .............................................................................................................................................32
Unspecified claims .........................................................................................................................................32
Calculating time .................................................................................................................................................32
Acknowledgment of service...............................................................................................................................33
The defence ........................................................................................................................................................33
Default judgment................................................................................................................................................33
Procedure .......................................................................................................................................................33
Types of default judgment ..............................................................................................................................33
Setting aside a default judgment ....................................................................................................................34
Discontinuance ...................................................................................................................................................34
General provisions .........................................................................................................................................35
Procedure .......................................................................................................................................................35
Pre-action settlements ........................................................................................................................................35
, Settlements reached after the issue of proceedings ............................................................................................35
Consent orders................................................................................................................................................35
Tomlin orders .................................................................................................................................................35
Disputing the court’s jurisdiction .......................................................................................................................36
Some Unit 3 Consolidated Notes .........................................................................................................................36
Statements of Case ...............................................................................................................................................38
Overview ........................................................................................................................................................38
Requirements and formalities ........................................................................................................................38
Professional conduct ......................................................................................................................................38
Claim form .........................................................................................................................................................38
Particulars of claim ............................................................................................................................................38
Purpose of the particulars of claim ................................................................................................................38
Contents of the particulars of claim ...............................................................................................................39
Defence ..............................................................................................................................................................40
Purpose of the defence ...................................................................................................................................40
Contents of the defence ..................................................................................................................................41
Counterclaims and additional claims .................................................................................................................41
Counterclaims ................................................................................................................................................41
Additional claims ...........................................................................................................................................41
Reply to defence.................................................................................................................................................42
Defence to counterclaim ....................................................................................................................................42
Requests for further information ........................................................................................................................42
Procedure .......................................................................................................................................................42
Amendments to statements of case ....................................................................................................................42
Before service of proceedings ........................................................................................................................43
After service of proceedings ..........................................................................................................................43
Interim Applications ............................................................................................................................................44
Purpose of interim applications..........................................................................................................................44
Types of interim applications .............................................................................................................................44
Procedure ...........................................................................................................................................................44
Where to make the application.......................................................................................................................44
Content ...........................................................................................................................................................44
Draft order ......................................................................................................................................................45
Service ............................................................................................................................................................45
Consent orders................................................................................................................................................45
Applications made on notice ..........................................................................................................................45
Applications made without notice..................................................................................................................45
Telephone hearings and video conferencing ..................................................................................................46
Interim costs orders ............................................................................................................................................46
Summary judgment ............................................................................................................................................46
No real prospect .............................................................................................................................................47
No other compelling reason ...........................................................................................................................47
, Procedure .......................................................................................................................................................47
Possible orders ...............................................................................................................................................47
Costs ...............................................................................................................................................................48
Interim injunctions .............................................................................................................................................48
General principles ..........................................................................................................................................48
Timing ............................................................................................................................................................48
Prohibitory injunctions and mandatory injunctions .......................................................................................48
Guidelines used by the court for interim prohibitory injunctions ..................................................................48
Procedure .......................................................................................................................................................49
Interim payments................................................................................................................................................50
Timing ............................................................................................................................................................50
Procedure .......................................................................................................................................................50
Conditions to be satisfied ...............................................................................................................................50
Orders .............................................................................................................................................................51
Effect on the trial ............................................................................................................................................51
Case Management ................................................................................................................................................52
Managing cases in accordance with the overriding objective............................................................................52
Vulnerable parties and witnesses ...................................................................................................................52
Equality of arms .............................................................................................................................................52
Allocation to a track ...........................................................................................................................................53
Provisional allocation .....................................................................................................................................53
Directions questionnaire and other documents ..............................................................................................53
Which track? ..................................................................................................................................................54
Small claims track ..........................................................................................................................................54
Fast track ........................................................................................................................................................55
Intermediate track ..........................................................................................................................................55
The court’s approach to case management on the fast and intermediate tracks.............................................56
Multi-track .....................................................................................................................................................56
The case management conference (and the costs and case management conference) ...................................57
Case summary ................................................................................................................................................57
Directions on the multi-track .........................................................................................................................58
Failure to comply with directions ......................................................................................................................58
Costs management .............................................................................................................................................58
Costs budgets .................................................................................................................................................59
Failure to file a costs budget on time .............................................................................................................60
Costs management order ................................................................................................................................60
Summary of case and costs management (contains some information not in the above) ..............................60
Court sanctions ...................................................................................................................................................61
Striking out a statement of case .....................................................................................................................61
Other sanctions ...............................................................................................................................................61
Relief from sanctions .....................................................................................................................................61
Summaries of Parts 26 and 29 CPR ...................................................................................................................63
