CEL County Court Claim

AnotherPPCdefendant

Hi all,

I've read a lot of information on this site and others about Private Parking Companies and PCNs, how to appeal and how to defend claims.

For reasons that are immaterial to this post I am drafting a defence for a claim from CEL for an alleged parking charge.
The key facts are:

that a driver who was not the keeper parked in a residential car park with permission of a resident who has a legal right (tested in court) to allow visitors to park.

Civil Enforcement Ltd operate ANPR at the car park - they do not have the authority of facilities manager to pursue claims. (It is believed they have been appointed by an intermediate leaseholder who does not have the right to manage the car park - this has also been tested before the courts)

POFA 2012 compliant notices to driver or notices to keeper were not issued.

Having read the forums I believe the defence rests on Civil Enforcement having no legal standing, and even if the CCBC decided they did, only the driver (who is not the defendant) can be held liable for breach of contract; further CEL failed to comply with POFA so cannot rely on keeper liability; nor can they make a trespass case given the driver had permission to park.

My questions are really about the process of how one submits the defence. Having written a draft it exceeds the line limit to submit online through Money Claim Online. Is one able to upload an attachment to MCOL? Or Does one submit a short set of particulars to be followed by a more detailed defence later? The issue date on the papers is 7th April, am i right that makes the service date 12th April, and having acknowledged service on MCOL the filing date for the defence is 10th May i.e. 28 days from the 12th April?

I'm hesitant to publish the draft defence here because it relies on other court cases specific to the location and that are public record hence it could be relatively easy to identify. I have drafted it based on the style and structure of the BMPA robo-defence. But grateful for any top tips.

Thanks very much

Another PPC Defendant

[Incidentally I find it quite interesting that the User Guide for Money Claim Online explains how to make a claim, but not how to defend one...]

parist

I was advised to do it by post. About to do it first class registered.

I was also issued on 7th April 2017. I want it there before or on the latest this Friday, to be safe. I believe 10th of May is the deadline.

The MCOL method does not give sufficient characters space and you would lose any formatting apparently.

I will also be sending a PDF copy via email direct to the court with the claim no. in the email title and the file name.

Good luck!

parist

Read this in another posting:

hoohoo wrote: »

Another option is email:
https://courttribunalfinder.service.gov.uk/courts/county-court-business-centre-ccbc

Claim responses & directions: ccbcaq@hmcts.gsi.gov.uk

I believe you get an acknowledgement, so you can prove it was received.
Add the claim number to the email subject line, and also the document name.

AnotherPPCdefendant

Thanks parist. The defence was successfully submitted through MCOL. The layout is actually not too bad once submitted. You can only use plain text and line breaks to manage the layout. Once entered it is automatically formatted as though it were typed on the relevant form, maintaining the paragraph structure.

We also had word today that another summons for the same residential car park has been withdrawn by CEL. So feeling cautiously optimistic at the moment.

Redx

you mean an MCOL , not a "summons"

nobody gets a "summons" for a small claim in civil court

you are not "summoned" to court and are not obliged to attend court either

they all do however , receive an MCOL , a Money Claim On Line

AnotherPPCdefendant

So, some more silly questions. The defence was submitted on 7th May, received by MCOL on 8th May. The CCBC then issued a letter saying that the claimant has 28 days from receiving the defence to proceed otherwise the claim is stayed. By my count it's 45 calendar days since 8th May. Does this mean the claim has been stayed? There have been no updates to the case on MCOL or information from the CCBC through the post. Should I expect to hear something? Am I counting the days wrong? Is it working days only (32 excluding the BH)? Is there a lag between the defence being marked received by MCOL and actually being received by the claimant to start the 28 clock? If so how long is that?

Like I say silly questions!

[Deleted User]

The orders often say the case is stayed without further order. In such cases matters remain in abeyance and the Claimant can simply apply to restart it.

You could write a letter to the court enclosing that order and seek to have the court order the claim be dismissed 'for want of prosecution' as it were, but unless you lodge a court application formally, the court may not be persuaded to make a further order.

Lamilad

This is how it goes everytime with CEL...

They issue court papers > defendant defends > they go silent and the claim is stayed

Sometimes it gets to DQ stage but never any further.

Fact is they hope the court papers will scare people into paying up (probably works in many cases) but have no intention of ever going to court.

It's amazing the court hasn't labelled them a 'vexatious litigant' considering they do this everytime and there must be hundreds of CEL claims laying dormant in the system.

You could write a letter to the court enclosing that order and seek to have the court order the claim be dismissed 'for want of prosecution' as it were, but unless you lodge a court application formally, the court may not be persuaded to make a further order.

I did this with one of my Excel cases but the court replied saying I would have to file an application and pay the £255 fee.

But that was one court. It's costs nothing to write and ask. The judge has broad case management powers in small claims and could dismiss/ strike out of he/she is so minded.