County Court Claim AM Parking Services Ltd

Coupon-mad

Sounds reasonable if you word it like you just typed and make your letter to the Judge polite, maintaining the moral high ground for yourself at all times.

JimmyChan

[FONT=&quot]Comments are always welcome:

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Dear Sir/Madam,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Having reviewed the Claimant’s Witness Statement I would like to bring to the Courts attention that this appears more to be a new Particulars of Claim (PoC). After being ordered to refile the PoC due to the fact it didn’t comply with Civil Procedure Rules part 16, and being specifically asked to give the “basis upon which the Claimant contends it has a cause of action.” The Claimant refiled with the cause of action being Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 that I was the keeper of the vehicle.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]The Claimant’s Witness Statement however now specifies that I was the driver, which was never mentioned in the revised PoC. This seems partially unfair to change the PoC at this late stage and feels like an ambush, especially after I have already written 2 defences and we are meant to be narrowing the issues before the hearing rather than widening them.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]Yours sincerely,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]JimmyChan
[/FONT]

Lamilad

Looks ok to me.

Are you planning to email this to the court?

If you don't get a reply I would raise it again as a 'preliminary issue' on the day

[Deleted User]

Partially unfair? You are prejudiced. It is unfair. The purpose of particulars is to finalise the case.
You are entitled to know the case you have to answer without having to constantly face new argument.

Had the claimant alleged that, your defence would have addressed the point. The claimant should be restricted to the particulars. I'd ask the court to strike out that part of the statement.

JimmyChan

Are you planning to email this to the court?

I was planning on posting this tomorrow (the hearing is next Wednesday, 10 days time) and sending a copy to Gladstones.

You are prejudiced. It is unfair

I will rewrite the "ambush" part, as using your words seems more legal speak than mine.

I'd ask the court to strike out that part of the statement.

Off the top of your head do you know which part of the CPR the court can do that? If not no worries I will read through later to find it

[Deleted User]

The court's general powers of case management are all found in CPR Part 3.

The Woolf reforms that brought in the Civil Procedure Rules were intended precisely to avoid trial by ambush. Your instincts are not incorrect.

JimmyChan

I have just added the final paragraph about asking the court to strike out their new claims:

[FONT=&quot]Dear Sir/Madam,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Having reviewed the Claimant’s Witness Statement I would like to bring to the Courts attention that this appears more to be a new Particulars of Claim (PoC). After being ordered to refile the PoC due to the fact it didn’t comply with Civil Procedure Rules part 16, and being specifically asked to give the “basis upon which the Claimant contends it has a cause of action.” The Claimant refiled with the cause of action being Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 that I was the keeper of the vehicle.

[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]The Claimant’s Witness Statement however now specifies that I was the driver, which was never mentioned in the revised PoC. This seems partially unfair to change the PoC at this late stage and feels like an ambush, especially after I have already written 2 defences and we are meant to be narrowing the issues before the hearing rather than widening them.[/FONT]

[FONT=&quot]Due to this causing prejudice against me I would invite the Court to use its case management powers in CPR part 3 to strike out all instances in the Claimant’s Witness Statement which raise the point that I was the driver, and that the Claimant should be restricted in the Claim to the refiled PoC.

[/FONT][FONT=&quot]Yours sincerely,[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]JimmyChan[/FONT]

Coupon-mad

The Claimant’s Witness Statement however now specifies an unsupported assumption that that I was the driver,

That sounds a bit better I think?


And don't you mean 'particularly'?

This seems partially unfair

JimmyChan

On the ball as always CM. It has been a long day.

Will get this sent off tomorrow.

I'm now working on my schedule of costs. As I am also counter claiming, should I be claiming for costs for my witness statement and supporting evidence? Or is this my cost alone?

Coupon-mad

Your counter claim isn't for costs, it's for whatever your counter claim was about (DPA breach?).

Have you submitted your WS and evidence to support the counter-claim (as opposed to the WS as defendant)? Laid it on thick about the significant distress suffered by you and your family as a result of being bombarded with harassing demands?