Telephone hearing in June.. help and advice welcome

greenfern3655

nosferatu1001 said:

CPR31.14 does not apply to claims on teh SCT, as you should know. WHile it has not been allocated, it WILL be. 

What is the SCT?

nosferatu1001

Small Claims Track
No, it is not a defence. 

greenfern3655

Oh, that's too bad about the CPR31.14, I was hoping that Gladstone's would have to do a little bit more work. I guess I'll just carry on my defence, using the vague particulars of the claim I've been provided...

greenfern3655

So using the guidance so far (thanks again) my revised paragraph 2 and 3 look like this:

2.       It is admitted that the Defendant was the registered keeper and driver of the vehicle in question but liability is denied, as there was no contractual breach. The contract was frustrated as a direct result of the poor placement, lighting and general visibility of the terms of the signage the claimant uses as evidence of this claim.

3. The defendant had driven to Cotswold Waterpark to park by the lakeside and allow the passengers (children) to stretch their legs and have a picnic. The ‘land’ which forms the basis of the current claim appears to consist of a large amount of open space with some marked bays and others not, a boat landing area, a field, some boulders and trees. The defendant only discovered upon investigation for this claim; at a later date, that over at the far side of this land , there is a community notice board and the unassuming and unlit signage the claimant alleges as the contract. The defendant had not seen the signage on the day of the alleged breach of contract. Even if she had, it would have been unclear to which part of the ‘land’ the signage pertained.

Can I include it like this and send it off?
Also, seeing how I didn't appeal or complain, can I still argue that the claimant behaved unreasonably in the pre- action phase?

Redx

You won't be sending anything off , you will be emailing your defence as a pdf document to the ccbcaq email address

You have 2 weeks left to file it , so why are you rushing it ? Wait for feedback

As for behaving unreasonably , how do you work that out ? It's a high bar and I cannot see where they have behaved unreasonably , unlike you who didn't appeal to MB or Popla ? Be careful what you wish for , think it through. A claim for unreasonable actions rarely succeeds

greenfern3655

Yes I will email it off, just will be glad to be done with this step.. but obviously happy to have more feedback if I can afford to wait.

I'm referring to paragraph 17(b) of the template, "The Defendant seeks a finding of unreasonable behaviour in the pre-and post-action phases by this Claimant",... my question is exactly as you point out; I didn't appeal or complain, am I in a position to stand behind the pre action bit of this statement?

Redx

Ok , that now makes more sense and may need adjusting , so wait for feedback on that specific question now that you have clarified it

Personally I believe you should remove it on face value , but will bow to what the legal minds say , as will you 😋

greenfern3655

Hear hear! Here’s to the legal minds on here 😁

greenfern3655

Hi again. I'm looking to email my defence in tomorrow and just wonder if anyone would have a chance to take a quick last look before I submit it? Thanks

Le_Kirk

Although your defence does read more like a witness statement, it does carry the facts and your main defence is that you did not see the signs due to them being so far away.  You can expand upon that with evidence (photos) in your witness statement later in the process.  Not sure what the relevance of the signs not being lit is!  If you were there for a picnic surely it was daytime!  Just add it to the standard defence template.  There are already points about signage in that template, so just make sure you are not duplicating matters unnecessarily.