3rd Party Failed to enter a Defence in time.

ColonelSanders

Hi all,
Just wondering if anybody has ever not received Judgement when the Defendant fails to enter a defence?
Long story short, a Geoamey Prison van hit me last May, and sped off. When i finally chased him down he said he cannot stop or leave the vehicle as he had prisoners in (understandable if this is their process) - but was then just laughing, refused to give me a name or any insurance details, said "I'll just say it was your fault" and left.

It's dragged on for a year now, and court proceedings where issued as 9 months in they finally responded with a description of what happened - which is not backed up at all by the independant vehicle assesment. (CAT N Write Off)

After court proceedings where issued i received a 50/50 offer. In the usual scare tactic form of "accept this or risk paying for it all" - they're a government contractor so i knew they would try and bully me. I rejected the 50/50 offer straight away as i'm not willing to accept i was partly responsible for what happened. A few hours later, i received a notification that the "Defendants failed to enter a Defence in time. I have therefore requested that Judgement be entered in your favour." from my solicitor. From what i can see, this should be quite good news and they where obviously trying their luck with the 50/50 offer.

So, should i be confident a judge will enter this in my favour 100% - as I do understand it is my word against theirs that they didn't stop, had to be chased, refused to give details etc - all of which is true. I just dont want this to impact my NCD - im not with that insurer anymore and only notfied them of the case, no claims where raised and the 3rd party has never contacted my insurer.

Understand it's a waiting game but just checking if anybody ever knew of a late defence being allowed to progress.

 Not such a long story short after all!!

Cheers

waamo

If they get a defence in before the default is registered it might be accepted. If it lands after the default judgement is handed down then they will have a few more legal hoops to jump through to defend the claim. Not impossible but more difficult and costly to them.

If you get a judgement enforce it ASAP 

KimJongUn88

Who issued proceedings on your behalf?When were they issued and when was the Acknowledgment of Service and Defence due? 

If you’re passed the time that the Defence is due, yes you can enter Judgment in Default. Have you had confirmation that judgment has now been entered?

Even if it has, the Defendant can still make an application to set aside the judgment. 

ColonelSanders

Hi all,
Thanks for the responses, the notice come from my solicitor not long after I instructed them to reject the 50/50 offer:

Following the commencement of proceedings the Defendants failed to enter a Defence in time. I have

therefore requested that Judgement be entered in your favour.

Once we have heard from the Court we will return to you. This should be within the next 28 days.

The 3rd party hasn't been co-operative at all throughout this so i'm just hoping they where wasting time.

ColonelSanders

to answer another question sorry, this was on Tuesday (26/05)

DoaM

Who engaged your solicitor? Was it via your insurance company, or did you employ an ambulance chaser?

What is the basis of your claim, and can you be sure it was filed on the correct defendant? Did they acknowledge the claim?

If they did the AoS but fail to file a defence in time then it's game over - their options for gaining a set aside are severely limited.

ColonelSanders

I engaged the solicitor from the beginning, and notified my insurance they will be sorting. The 3rd party (Geoamey) took 3 months to tell us they where not in possession of the vehicle that day, and it was "leased out for the day". The second insurance company where then silent for another 3 months before sending back their drivers account of what happened, which differs vastly from mine and like I said is not supported by the vehicle assesment at all. They've been quiet since then really, apart from offering a 50/50 the day before they needed to file their defence.

ColonelSanders

To confirm they come in to my (right hand) lane on a 30 road as if I wasn't there. Crushed me against the kerb and sped off once I was forced to a stop.

Their statement is that we where both in the left lane and chose to switch at the same time with my passenger front side hitting his rear drivers side.
Damage to my car was front to back on both sides and both right side tyres needed replacing due to being forced against the kerb. And passenger wing mirror broken, forced closed.
Just hoping a judge would see the assesment doesnt match their statement 

DoaM

A judge won't have experience or knowledge to make a forensic assessment of the evidence. They'll pass judgment based on whose story they most believe - i.e. on the balance of probabilities, what is the most likely scenario.

But if they don't file a defence in time then it's a moot point - you'll get a default judgment which you can then enforce.

How is your solicitor being paid? If this claim is in the Small Claims Track then legal costs (that can be claimed from the other party) are limited.

ColonelSanders

Hi all, little update on this one, its getting more confusing for me now. received the below today from my solicitors. Am i reading it incorreclty by thinking it seems to make no odds that they failed to enter a defence??
Points in the correspondance:

Following the commencement of proceedings the Defendants have failed to enter a Defence in time.  I have therefore obtained Judgment in your favour although the value of your claim is still in dispute.

 As liability has not formally been admitted, the Defendants can make an application at any time to have the judgment set aside(???) 

The Court will now give directions for the future conduct of your case leading to a Hearing to assess your compensation, should I be unable to negotiate a satisfactory settlement with the Defendants.  To enable the Court to list the Hearing Date I should be pleased if you could provide me with the dates of your unavailability for the next 12 months on the enclosed instrution sheet

This to me reads that they failed to enter a defence, judgement has been settled in my favour but because they haven't admitted liability it could still go either way?

Side note, my Insurer at the time called me last week to advise that the 3rd Party has raised a claim against my policy! theyv've been silent since May 2019! Not sure if the judgement above voids their new claim or not, waiting to hear back from my solicitor.

any advice or am i just going to have to roll with this for possible another year?

Thanks!

AdrianC

They didn't enter a defence - which may be because they didn't know about the court case.
If they can show that's the case, they can apply to have it set aside (which can be refused), and the case is re-heard.