Summary LPC Dispute Resolution Workshop 3 and 4 revision notes

DR WS 3 & 4
Statements of case, service of documents, and judgment in default
Commencing proceedings

Choice of court

In some cases, the client will have a choice as to the court in which to start proceeding.

What court? Value of claim
High Court  PD 7A, para 2.1: If the value of the claim is more than £100,000, can
opt to start here
Issuing of  PD 7A, para 2.4: claim should be started in High Court if by reason of:
proceedings sent o value of claim and the amount in dispute and/or
to a District o complexity of facts, legal issues, remedies or procedures
Registry of the and/or
High Court o the importance of the outcome
o claimant believes claim ought to be dealt with by High Court
judge

Division:
Likely to be the King’s Bench Division:
 King’s Bench Division:
 Claims for breach of contract or tort
 Specialist courts e.g. Admiralty Court, Commercial Court
 Chancery Division:
 Commercial claims e.g. trusts, claims about land, landlord and
tenant disputes, contentious probate, intellectual property, if
seeking an equitable remedy such as specific performance.
 Family Division
County Court Unlimited jurisdiction to ALL TORT AND CONTRACT cases
 If value less than £100,000, must start here
 If more than £100,000, can choose here or High Court

Specified Claims:
 PD7A, para 5.1: if only for an amount of money (specified or
unspecified) and NO special procedures required  Claim Form
N1 must be sent to Civil National Business Centre
 If subsequent hearing is required  claim form sent to
defendant’s home county court/claimant’s preferred hearing
centre

Unspecified Claims:
 All other county court claims (incl. part 8/interim remedy) = can
issue proceedings in ANY county court in the country.



1 Is the value for more than the £100k threshold set out in PD 7A para 2.1?
a. No → must start at County Court.
b. Yes → Choose County Court or High Court.

2 PD 7A para 2.4 says you should consider whether the claim ought to be dealt with by a High Court judge due
to:
a. Financial value (is it well over 100k or only just?);
b. The complexity (are expert witnesses required?); and/or
c. The importance to the public.

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,DR WS 3 & 4




Issuing proceedings

Claim form

A party who wishes to start proceedings must complete a claim form in the prescribed way: PD 7A 3.1,
which should be handed in or sent to the appropriate court office.
Proceedings are commended when the court ‘issues’ the claim form by sealing it with the court seal.
For limitation purposes, the relevant date is when the court RECEIVES the claim form

SEE CLAIM FORM WS4

Drafting the claim form checklist
Court details PD7A para 2 - High court/County Court
e.g High Court of Justice, Queen’s Bench Division, Leeds District Registry
Fee account number Look at the question
This is the firm’s reference number for court fees paid electronically.
Claim number and issue date Leave blank
We will not have these details if the claim is not yet issued.
Claimant(s) names and PD 16, para 2:
address(es) including Look at the question for Claimant’s residential or business address.
postcode  Not solicitors’ address even if they are ‘service address’.
 Must include post code: PD 16 2.4 and 2.5 – cannot serve until given
 Number the names where there are multiple claimants.

 Individual: Mr John Smith
 Sole Traders trading under another name: Mr John Smith trading as Smith Shoes
 Partnerships: XYZ ‘(a Firm)’ –
o i.e. the Name of the partnership - PD 7A, para 5A.3
o if being sued individually - name of each partner + title (Mr John Smith, Ms Jane
Doe)
 Company: Majestic Ltd/PLC
o There is no need to include the party’s company number
o Can be registered office or place of business – where accept post.

Court will NOT serve claim form until claimant supplies full address (inc. postcode)  but
will ISSUE claim form
Defendant(s) names and PD 16, para 2:
address(es) including As above for the Claimant.
postcode
Brief details of claim Must contain concise statement of nature of claim (CPR 16.2(1)(a)) i.e. factual and legal
basis, and specify the remedy sought (CPR 16.2(1)(b)):
 If the claim is for breach of contract, include the date of the contract,
brief details of the terms breached.

 E.g. “the Claimant claims damages arising out of the Defendant’s breach
of contract on 8th August 2016”.

Need to provide statement of value (£X) (CPR 16.2(1)(c)):

Value: the amount
claimed/interest  Unspecified claims: Court to conduct investigation to DECIDE on payable amount even
if Claimant puts forward figures
 If claim issued in the County Court, MUST state whether claimant expects to

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, DR WS 3 & 4
recover following amounts: r16.3(2)
 Not more than £10,000; or
 More than £10,000, but not more than £25,000; or
 More than £25,000; or
 That the claimant cannot say how much.
 If claim issued in the High Court and claiming £100,000+ state: PD 7A, para 3.4
 E.g. “The Claimant wishes to claim the issue in the High Court because
they expect to recover more than £100,000”

 Specified claims: A DEBT claim ONLY (FIXED amount of money)
 State the EXACT sum sought + calculate the TOTAL INTEREST payable on sum:
r16.2(1)(cc)
 E.g. “The claim is for a specified sum of £63,450 plus accrued interest of
£1995.30 and compensation of £100”. This comprises of…
Preferred County Court Do not fill in if in the High Court: Otherwise fill in with a county court local to the parties.
Hearing Centre
Defendant’s name and Put in the Defendant’s solicitors address if he is represented.
address for service including Plus any further available info such as:
postcode  DX number
 Telephone number
 Fax number
 The other side’s reference
Court fee The fee payable on issue of the claim form by claimant, based on the value of the claim
Must be stated on front of claim form
 Specified sum: issue fee = total amount of claim + accrued interest
 See EX50 Extract. Below
Solicitor’s costs  If the claim is unspecified put:
o ‘To be assessed’
o If more work to come
 If the claim is specified put:
o Amount of fixed costs payable under Part 45 of the CPR 1998. Below
Human Rights Act 1998 Check “No”
Particulars of claim The details of the claim must be set out either in the claim form itself or in a separate
document that is served either WITH the claim form or WITHIN 14 DAYS of service of the
claim form.
 Claimant must file copy at court within 7 days of service to defendant

Most likely “to follow”.
Statement of truth Can be signed by the Claimant OR the qualified solicitor.
CPR requires that claim form is verified by statement of truth: CPR, part 22
 If SoC not verified by statement of truth  effective unless court strikes it out on
own initiative/on application of another party

 If signed by the Claimant who is an individual, with POC to follow:
 “I believe The Claimant believes that the facts stated in these particulars
of claim this claim form are true. I am duly authorised by the claimant to
sign this statement”.
 If signed by a Claimant on behalf of a company, with POC to follow:
 “I believe The Claimant believes that the facts stated in these particulars
of claim this claim form are true. I am duly authorised by the claimant to
sign this statement”.
 If signed by the solicitor, with POC to follow: PD 22, para 3.6 – client’s belief not
the solicitor’s
 “I believe The Claimant believes that the facts stated in these particulars
of claim this claim form are true. I am duly authorised by the claimant to
sign this statement”.
 Solicitor must sign in their OWN name and NOT FIRM’s (PD 22, para 3.9)

Sample statement of trust: “[I believe] [The (claimant or as may be) believes] that the facts
stated in this [name document being verified] are true. [I understand] [The (claimant or as
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