Request/ Application to Strike Out: Small Claims Court

Burnham101

Hi all, apologies in advance for the lengthy post but I am at wits' end!

I recently won a small claims case and am going through enforcement action. I was shocked to come home from work and find a letter from the court (months after I had won) saying that I had another hearing as the defendant had requested to strike out my claim. Apparently, she wasn't very happy losing! 

I have looked a little online but cannot find much. She has said in her application that she cannot afford to pay me back as she has other debts to pay, but can afford the £225 fee for filing the application . After looking through her application, I don't think she has a formal tenancy agreement (£200 a month) and, with all respect, her other debts don't concern me. Some of the debts she listed involve her family so I think these are casual agreements rather than formal ones

She has claimed that she was suffering from poor health and that's why she couldn't interact with the courts. I sympathise with this, but she did respond to the court requests for more information, directions questionnaires etc and after I had won, she got in contact and said she was sorry and would pay me back soon. However, she couldn't tell me when and quickly became nasty so I put the phone down and contacted the baliffs.

My question is this: what do I need to do to defend my claim? What needs to go into my Hearing bundle? I know she will say this is affecting her health, but I have evidence of her getting in contact saying she will pay.

Any help is very much appreciated!! 

pphillips

She is clearly confused as the court won't strike out a claim once you have obtained judgment. She is therefore apparently meant to apply to set aside the judgment under the provisions of CPR 27.9 because she was not present or represented at the hearing. However, the right to have the judgment set aside is lost if more than 14 days has passed since the judgment was served on her. If instead she believes that the decision of the court was wrong in fact or law, she would need to ask the court for permission to bring an appeal.

Burnham101

pphillips said:

She is clearly confused as the court won't strike out a claim once you have obtained judgment. She is therefore apparently meant to apply to set aside the judgment under the provisions of CPR 27.9 because she was not present or represented at the hearing. However, the right to have the judgment set aside is lost if more than 14 days has passed since the judgment was served on her. If instead she believes that the decision of the court was wrong in fact or law, she would need to ask the court for permission to bring an appeal.

Thank you! So, I will put my hearing bundle together as if I was going to a normal hearing; do you know if the hearing will be similar to a usual hearing even though it is an appeal to strike out?

pphillips

Yes, it's similar to a hearing but shorter because it's only an interim hearing. Technically it could be converted to a full hearing if the application succeeds, but there is virtually no chance of that happening.

Burnham101

pphillips said:

Yes, it's similar to a hearing but shorter because it's only an interim hearing. Technically it could be converted to a full hearing if the application succeeds, but there is virtually no chance of that happening.

Thank you so much