Help required - OH Court date in under 3 weeks and been ill!

Stevey

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Just adding this link for you:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5752249/pcn-date

The OP - a retired person, not legally trained - just won in 5 minutes flat at Bradford!

DJ Hickinbottom seems to have sussed the PPC scam and knows about no keeper liability...

Thanks - really encouraging

Is it safe for me to mention the judge who will be presiding over our case?

Loadsofchildren123

6) Main evidence question - the title deed I downloaded from OS Site says it is not Court Admissible, and that I have to write to them for such a version which will take a week, and cost £14. Can I send the interim versions with the Evidence bundle, and later send the "Legal" versions? Can I claim back these costs?
It doesn't matter, use it. Yes you can recover these costs.
This is really important. They have to demonstrate that they have landowner authority.


The video: do this on a CD, the judge will have a PC {s}he'll be able to watch it on. The judge may disregard it, but put it in anyway.


Lay repping: this is an absolute right in a small claim (in other types of claims the judge has the discretion to say yes or no).

Stevey

OK - So thanks to everyone involved - I have completed the defendant's bundle and it has been submitted.

We are looking like this is going to happen - we received the Claimant's bundle today from Gladstones. It finally includes their response to our defence.

Not sure what next - do we submit responses to this before the Hearing in the form of a Skeleton Argument, or do we respond to it on the day. There is a lot I think I could pick holes in.

Can I summarise Claimant arguments safely on here? Not sure what I can or can't do currently, given the documents in question have now been submitted to the Judge for review.

Thanks once again.

Redx

read the BARGEPOLE and LOC123 links in post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread if you dont know what comes next, that thread and post is your "bible"

SA and WS and evidence and costs schedule come BEFORE it gets into court, you cannot just "ambush" them on the day like they will likely try in the meeting room with you

post anything you have decided on in here first , minus personal info

if you dont ask , you dont get

Coupon-mad

Yes you can name the Judge here and yes you can run your SA and costs schedule by us.

Stevey

Redx wrote: »

read the BARGEPOLE and LOC123 links in post #2 of the NEWBIES FAQ sticky thread if you dont know what comes next, that thread and post is your "bible"

SA and WS and evidence and costs schedule come BEFORE it gets into court, you cannot just "ambush" them on the day like they will likely try in the meeting room with you

post anything you have decided on in here first , minus personal info

if you dont ask , you dont get

Thanks Redx,

To clarify, I have submitted Defence late last year, and today was Witness Statement, and all Exhibits that will be relied upon. So according to your list, as I would expect, only costs schedule to be produced.

My point is that I have finally today received for the first time any response from the Claimant in terms of their witness statement and evidence, and that is only because it was the last day to file papers before the hearing. How do I respond to their arguments that I am now seeing for the first time when the hearing is imminent. Can I provide additional papers to the court and the claimant refuting their arguments, or is that only for the hearing.

Hope that makes a bit more sense.

Stevey

Coupon-mad wrote: »

Yes you can name the Judge here and yes you can run your SA and costs schedule by us.

Great - The judge is DJ Hickinbottom

I'm taking the evening off - have worked 3 days solid over the Bank Holiday to get to this point, so take a break from the fight tonight

I'll post some of their arguments in abbreviated form tomorrow and some thoughts on defence.

Coupon-mad

How do I respond to their arguments that I am now seeing for the first time when the hearing is imminent.

Either at the hearing, when you can tear into their messy template drivel, or in a SA.

Stevey wrote: »

Great - The judge is DJ Hickinbottom

Good!

I hope he tears into their rep from the outset, you might find your wife doesn't have to say a word.

Umkomaas

Great - The judge is DJ Hickinbottom

Judge H seems to have the PPC scam sussed.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/74258203#Comment_74258203

Loadsofchildren123

If you are going to produce anything new in response to their WS/bundle, I think you need to do that now, before your SA.


So if there's anything new evidence arising now you've seen their case, get it together asap and write to them:


Given your client's poorly drafted and incomprehensible Particulars of Claim (a breach of, inter alia, CPR Rule 16.4) and your client's refusal at the pre-action phase to provide any details of its claim, how it arose, and how it will evidence it, I have now seen this for the first time in your client's WS and bundle, which I received on x date.


The following new issues arise from the WS and bundle, which were not clear from the Particulars of Claim. These are as follows: [then list them and refer to new matters these raise on your part, enclosing any new documents].


I will seek leave at the hearing to rely on this further evidence/documents.


This sort of conduct is precisely what the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims and before it the Practice Direction - Pre-Action Conduct are designed to avoid. As a Defendant I am entitled to know, before proceedings are started, sufficient detail about the claim firstly to consider my position in relation to it and to respond to it, and secondly to be able to defend it properly once/if proceedings are then issued. You have denied me this opportunity and your client's conduct is an abuse of the court process.


I will be relying on this letter in relation to costs.




If the WS/bundle doesn't result in you wanting to put in further new evidence, then miss out those two middle paragraphs and write the letter anyway. Then emphasise in your SA what they've done to set the scene and get the judge going.


If you look at the letters people often write in the early stages of a claim complaining about PPCs ignoring their pre-action obligations (which appear often on this forum, there was one just yesterday) these contain chapter and verse on the law re breaches of the pre-action obligations which give the court the power to punish a party on costs (amongst other things), so you might want to include a paragraph in your SA about that if you are wanting to seek costs. In theory the provisions allow you to seek costs even if they win, but judges would be reluctant to do this, which is why I include the case law. IMO if more judges used the pre-action protocol/PD to punish professional litigants on costs they'd pay more attention to their obligations and I quietly rage that this is constantly swept under the carpet.