County court claim

bows

I have read all, I have the good example. What i lack is the confidence and knowledge that what i am doing is correct, why people feel it to be helpful to take a guess at the contriary is beyond me. I am a newbie, i have read the newbies thread. yet i ask newbie questions - shock horror! You are making an incorrect assumption. Allow me to rephrase my question. 

1- The good example has the defendant as the driver, in my case driver ( witness ) and defendant are different.  The good example document is far more than just a witness statement - it goes on to make clear distinctions & express argumentative points e.g -  "The Beavis case is against this claim" etc.   If i want to add similar (after the witness' part done by myself) do i get the defendant to do this? from who's perspective do you argue from ( latter part of the document)  - does this need a 'special' format or paragraph as a precursor to stating evidence?....  perhaps i can just write a paragraph at the beginning that defines who i am and that i am writing for the defendant for the whole of the document...

2-  There are Photographs in the BWlegal witness pack that i would like to refer to that clearly help my case - e.g the sign location within the carpark. is this allowed? i did not receive a notice on my car so i did not know to take photographs   Plus they did not include a clear picture of a ticket on the car with the witness statement.. i will draw attention to this in the the latter part of the statement.  

Le_Kirk

The defendant is the person named on the N1 claim form that was received from Northampton CCBC.  It is usually the registered keeper  Since there is no register of owners, the ownership of the vehicle is irrelevant.  Who submitted the defence and did they do it as keeper (not driver) or keeper (driver)?  This makes a difference as to how the defendant writes the witness statement.  The witness statement is in support of the defence as already filed and you cannot change or add new parts to a defence.  You claim you are a newbie yet you started this thread in 2018!
You can use any part of the claimant's witness statement or evidence if it helps support your case.

bows

The defence was by the registered keeper - can one write on behalf of the defendant (keeper)  thus being the 'witness' to the case..

if writing on behalf of the keeper i could use the written format / methodology / layout from the claimants documents as  e.g "filed on behalf of the defendant"  

Why have they included a ' skeleton argument 'as another document or perhaps how can this be added (legally) on top of a witness statement?

 newbie by the number of posts, not  by date of joining - as used by the rest of the internet

Redx

The defendant can write their own WS , you can assist them

You could provide a witness statement from you as the actual driver , if you want to , which the defendant can add as an exhibit to their bundle , the defendant mentions this in their own WS 

If you are a witness in the case , you cannot assist in court as a lay representative

Both of you need to think carefully about this before taking the plunge

If the claimant complied with POFA , then the claimant can hold the defendant liable under POFA , so check for compliance or failure to comply, pointless outing the driver if the defendant is liable under POFA

The bundle is submitted by the defendant , nothing to do with you , you cannot take over , if the driver was to be named , it should have been done before the court claim pack was issued

KeithP

Further to what @Redx says... it is the named Defendant that must sign their Defence and, when the time comes, their Witness Statement.

Do not even try and use phrases like 'on behalf of...'.

But it goes without saying, you can help with everything.

bows

Thankyou.  

The defendant can write their own WS , you can assist them - will do. 

If you are a witness in the case , you cannot assist in court as a lay representative - we have no court appearance - decision via papers but i assume this is still the case legally.

The driver will not be outed - potentially more harm than good it  would seem. 

Redx

A non driving keeper defendant has POFA protection if the claimant has failed to comply with POFA , it's that simple !! Case dismissed

The defendant can refrain from naming the driver , so no comment , but should clearly state that the defendant was not the driver

If the claimant complied with POFA , they don't need to know who was driving , they can pursue the keeper as defendant , the law says so

KeithP

bows said:

The driver will not be outed - potentially more harm than good it  would seem. 

That's good, but remember, the court can decide who the driver was - on the balance of probabilities.

As your wife is defending this case on the papers, it needs to be a comprehensive Witness Statement to ensure all the Claimant's points are rebutted.

Out of interest, why did your wife choose to defend on the papers?

Coupon-mad

No one accepts a case being decided on the papers.  The NEWBIES thread tells you not to agree.