BW Legal County Court Claim Form

Redx

So check the BPA CoP clause 13 grace periods in force on the date of the incident , comparing it to 9 minutes , so the time allowed to check signage and depart. If the incident was not 2020 , check the previous version , not the present 2020 version , earlier you stated it was November 2019 , so check the previous CoP

Umkomaas

The car park was completely dark, and the signage was not adequately illuminated.

Also, there are two pictures of my car, one at the time of entry and the other when I exited the car park, from these dark/grainy pictures its easy to see that apart from the head/tail lights of my car there was no other source of light in the car park.

Given their 'evidence', I'd remove 'adequately'.

Le_Kirk

Coupon-mad said:

4.  The issues in the Defendant's case .................    HHJ Harris attempted to define parking in that appeal case and the transcript of his decision will be provided in evidence.  Similarly, in Moncrieff and Another v Jamieson and others: HL 17 Oct 2007, at para 123 Lord Neuberger held that to 'park vehicles' was 'to station them on a longer term basis' as opposed to 'the coming and going of motor vehicles along the way...

End of date missing, fixed.

Sam_was_here

Umkomaas said:

The car park was completely dark, and the signage was not adequately illuminated.

Also, there are two pictures of my car, one at the time of entry and the other when I exited the car park, from these dark/grainy pictures its easy to see that apart from the head/tail lights of my car there was no other source of light in the car park.

Given their 'evidence', I'd remove 'adequately'.

Many thanks Umkomaas, this makes sense. I have removed this qualification, so now it reads - "... the signage was not illuminated."

Sam_was_here

Le_Kirk said:

Coupon-mad said:

4.  The issues in the Defendant's case .................    HHJ Harris attempted to define parking in that appeal case and the transcript of his decision will be provided in evidence.  Similarly, in Moncrieff and Another v Jamieson and others: HL 17 Oct 2007, at para 123 Lord Neuberger held that to 'park vehicles' was 'to station them on a longer term basis' as opposed to 'the coming and going of motor vehicles along the way...

End of date missing, fixed.

Thank you again Le_Kirk. I have amended the year now.

Sam_was_here

Redx said:

So check the BPA CoP clause 13 grace periods in force on the date of the incident , comparing it to 9 minutes , so the time allowed to check signage and depart. If the incident was not 2020 , check the previous version , not the present 2020 version , earlier you stated it was November 2019 , so check the previous CoP

Thanks again Redx, for pointing me to section 13 of BPA CoP. The date in my case was Nov 2019, when Version 7, January 2018 of BPA CoP was in force, it states the following:

13 Grace periods

13.1 If a driver is parking without your permission, or at locations where parking is not normally permitted they must have the chance to read the terms and conditions before they enter into the ‘parking contract’ with you. If, having had that opportunity, they decide not to park but choose to leave the car park, you must provide them with a reasonable grace period to leave, as they will not be bound by your parking contract.

13.2 If the parking location is one where parking is normally permitted, you must allow the driver a reasonable grace period in addition to the parking event before enforcement action is taken. In such instances the grace period must be a minimum of 10 minutes.

13.2.a Vehicles are not permitted to park under the grace period in spaces designated to specific users for example Blue Badge holders. At all times vehicles must have appropriate and valid permit e.g Blue Badge on display for enforcement officer to inspect.

13.3 You must tell us the specific grace period at a site if our compliance team or our agents ask what it is.

13.4 You should allow the driver a reasonable period to leave the private car park after the parking contract has ended, before you take enforcement action. If the location is one where parking is normally permitted, the Grace Period at the end of the parking period should be a minimum of 10 minutes.

Unlike the CoP published in 2020, point 13.1 in this version above, does not mention the specific minimum duration of 5 mins, it merely states '... you must provide them with a reasonable grace period to leave, as they will not be bound by your parking contract..'. 

@Coupon-mad
@Umkomaas
May I please seek some guidance on whether it would be worth referencing this in the defence via an additional para as below or is this better suited to the WS :

 According to Section 13 of the BPA Approved Operator Code of Practice 2012 - Version 7, January 2018, (the version to be referred to in relation to any issues of non-compliance taking place up to but not including 6th January 2020), :

13 Grace periods
13.1 If a driver is parking without your permission, or at locations where parking is not normally permitted they must have the chance to read the terms and conditions before they enter into the ‘parking contract’ with you. If, having had that opportunity, they decide not to park but choose to leave the car park, you must provide them with a reasonable grace period to leave, as they will not be bound by your parking contract.
As per the Claimants Photo evidence, the duration between the time stamps associated to the Defendant's entry into the car park and his exit, adds up to a total of 9 minutes and 34 seconds. This duration is not excessive given the Defendant's circumstances and should be considered as a reasonable grace period.

Coupon-mad

Unlike the CoP published in 2020, point 13.1 in this version above, does not mention the specific minimum duration of 5 mins, it merely states '... you must provide them with a reasonable grace period to leave, as they will not be bound by your parking contract..'. 
May I please seek some guidance on whether it would be worth referencing this in the defence via an additional para as below or is this better suited to the WS.

I would have it in the defence as well. 

When it comes to the WS you can elaborate with good old Kelvin Reynolds' BPA article about grace periods (done to death on here...easy to find).

Redx

I agree with the above , add it in and expand the argument later down the line with the Kelvin Reynolds quote etc , plus introduce the argument is 9 minutes a reasonable time to enter , to stop , to try to read signs in small font in darkness , return to vehicle , put seatbelt on , then to depart carefully from the car park ? 

I certainly think so !!!!!       , Even the new CoP allows a minimum , note the word minimum , of 5 minutes , plus 10 minutes tends to be an acceptable period in most debates including the current Mhclg CoP , so if that comes into force before your WS is due next year , quote it if it is advantageous to your WS

Sam_was_here

Coupon-mad said:

Unlike the CoP published in 2020, point 13.1 in this version above, does not mention the specific minimum duration of 5 mins, it merely states '... you must provide them with a reasonable grace period to leave, as they will not be bound by your parking contract..'. 
May I please seek some guidance on whether it would be worth referencing this in the defence via an additional para as below or is this better suited to the WS.

I would have it in the defence as well. 

When it comes to the WS you can elaborate with good old Kelvin Reynolds' BPA article about grace periods (done to death on here...easy to find).

Many thanks Coupon-mad and @Redx for your guidance yet again. I have now made all the revisions to my defence, including this last point regarding the grace period. I have saved my defence as a pdf and signed it electronically as my printer has decided to play up.
I have until tomorrow but I will be dispatching this via email to CCBCAQ@Justice.gov.uk tonight, using KeithP's instructions in the Newbie section, some fires to fight at work tomorrow morning so it is best I get done with this tonight.
This concludes the first major step in the good fight, thanks once again to each one of you for getting me this far. Truly grateful!

Redx

Ok , do that , then it's DQ time , so checkout the what happens and when threads , from the Newbies FAQ sticky thread