£860 Private Parking County Claim - Urgent Help!

Coupon-mad

Are you up to speed with Preliminary matters re no Right of Audience of the hired gun?

To chuck him/her out on the spot? Search the forum.

Jonathon365

I'm not, i'll look it up now.
Thank you once again coupon-mad, you are literally a life saver!

Jonathon365

So my understanding regrading Right of Audience:

I need to see (the court needs to see) a right of audience document from the claimants rep confirming they will be speaking on behalf of the claimant?

This means I assume that if this is not provided on the day by the claimant, the rep has no right to speak on behalf of the claimant.

Therefore it's something I bring up right away during the hearing?

Coupon-mad

I need to see (the court needs to see) a right of audience document from the claimants rep confirming they will be speaking on behalf of the claimant?

Nope. No such thing. You need to read a few more threads, this is well covered.

Therefore it's something I bring up right away during the hearing?

Before, handing the Usher a Preliminary matters document & enclosures, if you've got there in time to ask the other side who they are. If they say they have RoA, don't just believe them!

Umkomaas

I need to see (the court needs to see) a right of audience document from the claimants rep confirming they will be speaking on behalf of the claimant?

It’s not about the claimant confirming the advocate will be speaking on their behalf (as in some sort of lay rep capacity), it’s about the individual’s fundamental right to do so in terms of their legal qualifications and/or their employment status. I’m not expert enough to quote ‘chapter and verse’, but if you follow my line on this in terms of your research, you’ll be nearer the target than your initial assumptions above.

The questioning of RoA must be brought up right at the start of the hearing, not half-way through. While you might have to be assertive (perhaps ‘persuasive’ is nearer the mark) with the judge, you need to know when to back off if he’s showing signs of irritation/grumpiness. While getting the advocate ‘gagged’ can be beneficial to you, it’s not entirely your showstopper.

I’m sure others might give you more specifics.

HTH

Jonathon365

Thanks, I'm a bit confused sorry.

I need to challenge the claimant on whether they do indeed have right of audience? 2a in the below direction I'm assuming is the one they're likely to breach if they are not a solicitor etc (1).

Practice Direction 27 says:

Representation at a hearing

3.1 In this paragraph:
(1) a lawyer means a barrister, a solicitor or a legal executive employed by a solicitor, and
(2) a lay representative means any other person.
3.2
(1) A party may present his own case at a hearing or a lawyer or lay representative may present it for him.
(2) The Lay Representatives (Right of Audience) Order 1999 provides that a lay representative may not exercise any right of audience:–
(a) where his client does not attend the hearing;
(b) at any stage after judgment; or
(c) on any appeal brought against any decision made by the district judge in the proceedings.
(3) However the court, exercising its general discretion to hear anybody, may hear a lay representative even in circumstances excluded by the Order.
(4) Any of its officers or employees may represent a corporate party.

Secondly, I have not got a preliminary matters document yet. I can create one to include:

- The lack of contract connecting the clamant to the site ? I was planning on just asking this as the first thing I say during the hearing.

Sorry for the confusion!

Coupon-mad

Lamilad has posted a generic Preliminary Matters version before, have a look at his posts or search for those words.

Jonathon365

Right, so a person who is not a lawyer that assists a party to a legal matter in court does not have a right of audience. Therefore, I can ask the Usher? to ensure the person can provide proof on their RoA?

Jonathon365

Ok I've found Lamilad's RoA transcript:

* Are you a solicitors agent?... A - "Yes"
* With Elms Legal?... A - "Yes"
* Is anyone here with you today either from Excel Parking or BW Legal?... A - "No"
* So, no one is here either from the claimant or their solicitors to supervise you?... A - "No"
* Have you ever been refused rights of audience?... A - "No"
* Do you have conduct in this matter?... A - "What do you mean?"
* I have a witness statement here from [name] which says he has conduct in this matter so what is the nature of your involvement in this case and on what authority is it granted?... A - [silence]
* I advise you that i will be submitting this document to the judge requesting that he review and assess your rights of audience before proceding with the case
* [hands over the document] This is not an ambush, it is for your information

I'm sorry I'm finding this tricky to understand. So I say the above to the rep, but what is included in prelim matters that ties this up?

Second should my question about the lack of a contract been in the prelim matters?

Umkomaas

My view is that if you can’t get your head around this (given the proximity to the hearing) sufficiently to be confident in arguing it, it may set you off on the wrong foot with the judge. You don’t want to be prejudicing the stuff that comes later.

My view only, your choice.