Defence filed but full of lies

catkins

My OH issued a moneyclaim online to a company which owes him money for work he did as a sub contractor in November and December 2014.


They filed the defence but it a lie from start to finish. OH is claiming for 10 invoices and listed them on the claim. The defence only mentions 6 of them and gives supposed reasons why they were not paid. Basically they are accusing OH of lying about his hours, materials etc which is all completely untrue.

However they have only referred to the 6 invoices they mention as "customer A", "customer B" and so on. We can't therefore tell which invoice/customer they are referring to. There doesn't appear to be any logic to their references either i.e. not in invoice date order, alphabetical on customer name etc.


We are now concerned that when the matter goes to Court they will have all their supposed story ready and we won't. Can we ask for more information from them before the hearing?


Also do we get a chance to challenge the defence before it goes to Court? As I say, the defence is full of blatant lies

stevemLS

Google CPR Part 15

15.8 If a claimant files a reply to the defence, the claimant must
(a) file the reply with a directions questionnaire; and
(b) serve the reply on the other parties at the same time as it is filed.
(Rule 26.3(1) and (6) requires the parties to file directions questionnaires and specifies the period for doing so).
(Part 22 requires a reply to be verified by a statement of truth)


So, yes, you may lodge a repy to the defence but you are not obliged to.

Have you got your DQ yet?

What is the total value of the claim?

Marktheshark

You can write to them and copy to the court demanding they provide a full disclosure of any documentation they intend to produce at court.
However now the Important bit the public generally do not know about court evidence.

Court Bundles.
Court bundles are evidence taken to court by each party, they are two forms, sealed bundle or unsealed bundle.
A sealed bundle with either be tied up with red ribbon, string or anything red to mark sealed, or even in a red bag as you see barrister use.
A open Bundle is lose documents.
A open bundle is an "open invitation" for evidence and the other party can place down documents on to your bundle to be used in court whilst awaiting the hearing.
A clever brief will often drop new evidence on unsuspecting people at court by dropping the documents in to your open bundle .
To prevent this seal your court bundle and ask the judge for permission to unseal the evidence bundle.
Leave anything they throw down outside the court.

The Judge will not allow placed documents then and they can only use what they sent in advance via the court.

stevemLS

Marktheshark wrote: »

You can write to them and copy to the court demanding they provide a full disclosure of any documentation they intend to produce at court.
However now the Important bit the public generally do not know about court evidence.

Disclosure is a distinct step in the proceedings and will be dealt with when Directions are issued.

Now a defence has been lodged, the court will automatically send a Directions Questionaire.

If you read the part of the CPR that I quoted, you will see that any Reply to the Defence must be filed with the DQ.

It would be inappropriate and premature to ask the o/s to produce any documents before that stage.

Standard Disclosure is by list, not by copies - so they provide a list of the documents they have and you can then inspect and/or take copies of them.

catkins

We have received the form to fill in if we want it to go to Court (which we do).


We have filled this in giving dates we are not available, saying which Court we want it held at and stating we will be calling 3 witnesses. We sent it off yesterday.


I guess then we will be getting a Directions Questionnaire next?


The claim is for £5,000

stevemLS

Catkins - have you kept a copy of the form - I suspect that was in fact the DQ?

Have you had an Allocation Questionaire yet and have you been told it has been allocated to the Small Claims Track?

Also familiarise yourself with Part 27 of the CPR and the associated Practice Direction.

CPR 27.4 tells you what the "Standard Directions" are for small claims.

Disclosure in small claims is dealt with slightly differently in that each party is expected to file and serve documents on which they intend to rely, rather than the standard procedure I outlined earlier.

catkins

The form we received was just to ask if we wanted to try mediation or, if not, if we were agreeable for it to be listed for small claims. It also asked how many witnesses we wanted to call, which Court we would prefer it to be held at and any dates we were not available in the next 6 months.

stevemLS

It sounds like an Allocation Questionaire rather than a DQ.

You really need to keep copies of everything.

If it was the AQ rather than the DQ you still have the opportunity to file a reply to the defence.

It isn't the end of the world though if you have lost that chance.

catkins

Pretty sure it was an AQ. Will we get a DQ or can we just file a reply?


Because we are sure the Defendant will lie at the hearing we are thinking of getting a solicitor. I know we can't get any fees back but do you think this is a good idea or not?

stevemLS

Read CPR 27.4

http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part27#27.1

That suggests the court will automatically give "Standard Directions", it disapplies the usual procedure for disclosure (which is why I asked how much the claim was for).

It is up to you whether you want to use a solicitor. Most small claims do not. Do you know whether the other side has a solicitor?

Obviously without seeing the POC, defence and evidence it is impossible to make any further suggestions.

People constantly lie in court, ultimately it is up to the judge to decide whose evidence he prefers, but documentary evidence to support assertions is always helpful.