DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Methods of ADR ● Negotiation - informal conversations marked without
prejudice
● Mediation - third party mediator makes a decision. Only
binding once a contract is signed
● Arbitration - 3rd party arbiter is appointed to make a
binding decision (can be enforced in court)
→ Failure to co-operate without good reason can lead to
sanctions
Track Allocation ● Small claims (cases up to £10k or £1k in PI)
● Fast Track (£10k - £25k), 1 day
● Intermediate Track (£25k - £100k), 1-3 days
● Multi Track (cases over £100k), long trial
● High Court threshold - over £100k + over £50k (PI)
○ If under → must start in County Court
● Allocation factors to consider:
○ Financial value of claim/counterclaim
○ Amount of expert/oral evidence required
○ Complexity
○ Number of parties
○ Nature of remedy sought
○ Circumstances of case
○ Overriding objective
● 1. King's Bench Division (contract and tort)
High Court ● 2. Chancery Division (property, land, trusts,
contentious inheritance matters, partnership claims,
intellectual property and company law).
● 3. Family Division (family disputes such as defended
divorces and adoption).
● + Business Property Court + other specialist courts
● Money-only paper claims → County Court Money Claims
Centre
● SPECIFIED CLAIM: claim for a fixed amount of money –
Types of Claims usually a debt. Easily calculated by C
● UNSPECIFIED CLAIM: amount of damages C is
claiming is uncertain. The court works it out
● MIXED? if C has both a specified sum and unspecified
damages, the claim is treated as an unspecified sum.
, ● MAX 15yrs
Limitation Period ● Breach of contract - 6yrs from date of breach
● Tort - 6yrs from tort committed
● PI - 3yrs from injury or from knowledge of injury
● Latent (hidden) damage - 6yrs from damage or 3yrs
from knowledge of damage
● C sends letter before claim
Pre-action conduct and protocols - ● D send letter of response
process ● Parties consider ADR - consider if trial can be avoided
● Sanctions for non-compliance
○ Party at fault may pay some/all opponent’s costs
(possibly on indemnity basis)
○ Claimant may lose some/all interest on damages
○ Defendant may pay higher interest on damages
1) Pre-commencement
OVERVIEW Civil litigation procedure 2) Commencement (claim form/response/allocation)
3) Interim matters (directions/disclosure/expert/payments)
4) Trial
5) Post-trial (appeal/costs/enforcement)
● Claim officially starts when is received at court office
Issuing claim form ● Form N1 - must be served on other party within 4
months of issue (6months if abroad)
● Serve AoS or defence within 14 days of receipt of PoC
Deadlines ● If AoS, serve defence within 28 days of receipt of PoC
(can be extended to 56 days)
● Specified
Interest in claim form ○ In contract → Late Payment of Commercial Debts
(Interest) Act 1998 (B2B) + statutory
compensation → Discretion under s35a SCA
1981/ s69 CCA 1984
● Unspecified
○ In contract → Discretion under s35a SCA 1981/
s69 CCA 1984
Claim form
Deemed service ● Served on 2nd business day (sent Fri→Tues)
Other docs (e.g. PoC/defence/Part 36)
● Personal service, email, fax
○ Before 4.30pm on business day = that day
○ After 4.30pm = next business day (delivered Sat
12pm→Mon)
● 1st class post, DX
○ 2nd day after posted if that day is business day
(sent Sat→Mon)
○ If not = next day (sent Fri→Mon)
Methods of ADR ● Negotiation - informal conversations marked without
prejudice
● Mediation - third party mediator makes a decision. Only
binding once a contract is signed
● Arbitration - 3rd party arbiter is appointed to make a
binding decision (can be enforced in court)
→ Failure to co-operate without good reason can lead to
sanctions
Track Allocation ● Small claims (cases up to £10k or £1k in PI)
● Fast Track (£10k - £25k), 1 day
● Intermediate Track (£25k - £100k), 1-3 days
● Multi Track (cases over £100k), long trial
● High Court threshold - over £100k + over £50k (PI)
○ If under → must start in County Court
● Allocation factors to consider:
○ Financial value of claim/counterclaim
○ Amount of expert/oral evidence required
○ Complexity
○ Number of parties
○ Nature of remedy sought
○ Circumstances of case
○ Overriding objective
● 1. King's Bench Division (contract and tort)
High Court ● 2. Chancery Division (property, land, trusts,
contentious inheritance matters, partnership claims,
intellectual property and company law).
● 3. Family Division (family disputes such as defended
divorces and adoption).
● + Business Property Court + other specialist courts
● Money-only paper claims → County Court Money Claims
Centre
● SPECIFIED CLAIM: claim for a fixed amount of money –
Types of Claims usually a debt. Easily calculated by C
● UNSPECIFIED CLAIM: amount of damages C is
claiming is uncertain. The court works it out
● MIXED? if C has both a specified sum and unspecified
damages, the claim is treated as an unspecified sum.
, ● MAX 15yrs
Limitation Period ● Breach of contract - 6yrs from date of breach
● Tort - 6yrs from tort committed
● PI - 3yrs from injury or from knowledge of injury
● Latent (hidden) damage - 6yrs from damage or 3yrs
from knowledge of damage
● C sends letter before claim
Pre-action conduct and protocols - ● D send letter of response
process ● Parties consider ADR - consider if trial can be avoided
● Sanctions for non-compliance
○ Party at fault may pay some/all opponent’s costs
(possibly on indemnity basis)
○ Claimant may lose some/all interest on damages
○ Defendant may pay higher interest on damages
1) Pre-commencement
OVERVIEW Civil litigation procedure 2) Commencement (claim form/response/allocation)
3) Interim matters (directions/disclosure/expert/payments)
4) Trial
5) Post-trial (appeal/costs/enforcement)
● Claim officially starts when is received at court office
Issuing claim form ● Form N1 - must be served on other party within 4
months of issue (6months if abroad)
● Serve AoS or defence within 14 days of receipt of PoC
Deadlines ● If AoS, serve defence within 28 days of receipt of PoC
(can be extended to 56 days)
● Specified
Interest in claim form ○ In contract → Late Payment of Commercial Debts
(Interest) Act 1998 (B2B) + statutory
compensation → Discretion under s35a SCA
1981/ s69 CCA 1984
● Unspecified
○ In contract → Discretion under s35a SCA 1981/
s69 CCA 1984
Claim form
Deemed service ● Served on 2nd business day (sent Fri→Tues)
Other docs (e.g. PoC/defence/Part 36)
● Personal service, email, fax
○ Before 4.30pm on business day = that day
○ After 4.30pm = next business day (delivered Sat
12pm→Mon)
● 1st class post, DX
○ 2nd day after posted if that day is business day
(sent Sat→Mon)
○ If not = next day (sent Fri→Mon)
