Dealer sold car on after PCP ended. 6 m later it got parking charge. Court case chasing prior keeper

patient_dream

Without Prejudice to the above, in order to assist the Court in achieving its overriding objective, our client may be prepared to settle this case - in the event you wish to discuss settlement, please call us”

DCBL have been reading this thread ??   This case is going cause them a problem with a high chance they will be spanked in court

You have to wonder what overriding objective they are talking about ?   Is it for the court to dismiss the case due to fakery, the fake add-ons. or could it be that they have signed a statement of truth that is false, could it be that they may face your costs when you win

OR ...... could it be this is a last ditch attempt to get you to pay otherwise they will have to discontinue ?

Johnersh

Probably not worth the application, but the factual position appears to be:

1. The defendant can't have been driving (no car)
2. The defendant never wholly owned the vehicle and *may* have been able to rely on the motor trader (BMW UK) to notify the dvla
https://dvladigital.blog.gov.uk/2017/08/25/motor-traders-do-you-use-our-online-service-to-tell-dvla-youve-sold-a-vehicle/ 
3. Parliament have legislated for the obvious scenario where a defendant can have no knowledge of who was driving and yet remain named as keeper. The claimant must explain in this analogous scenario, accepting that factual position before them, why D is liable for breach of a contract that s/he was never party to. 

dadsma

patient_dream said:

Without Prejudice to the above, in order to assist the Court in achieving its overriding objective, our client may be prepared to settle this case - in the event you wish to discuss settlement, please call us”

DCBL have been reading this thread ??   This case is going cause them a problem with a high chance they will be spanked in court

DCBL sent that before we started this thread.

If I’m reading the situation right, the fact that the claimant issued the NTK 14 days later than POFA schedule 4 allows, prevents them transferring liability even if my friend was the keeper. Inevitably this will be fatal to their case. 

When I explain the scenario to my friend should he 
wait and introduce it in his witness statement or would court procedural rules expect him to advise the claimant now as it may well encourage them to withdraw and not waste the court’s time?

Castle

For a parking event on 15th August 2021, a NTK must be received within 56 days, (10th October 2021). A NTK dated 27th October 2021 would have been deemed to have been received on 29th October 2021-19 days too late.

Johnersh

This likely requires a robust letter to C telling them that they are stuffed and that you'll seek unreasonable conduct costs if this is pursued to trial. 

There are just 2 bases for a claim (assuming we accept that there was a breach of parking terms by the driver) - 1. For them to prove D was driving and 2. For them to prove PoFA transfers liability. 

If NTK posts are correct ontimings, then potentially there may be no basis in law for the claim, given the independent evidence that the vehicle had been surrendered. 

Irrespective of what I said above (which I still holds good) they cannot rely on PoFA as keeper liability only occurs with compliance with strict terms. Proper notice was not served.

On the facts the D was not the driver and could not be,  C cannot prove that he was and there is no law which permits them to make an assumption as to who was. They fail on both limbs.

C had actual knowledge pre issue of when notice was served and that D was not driving. Nothing has changed. They also appear to have taken no steps to enquire with BMW as to whether their agent was driving or to obtain details of another. Those are reasonable enquiries that should be made before marching on into litigation simply because the RK info is expedient. 

dadsma

We sent directions questionnaire to the court and claimant.
We also sent the “stiff” email to DCBL but got no reply.

Followed this with a copy stiff email to the claimant requesting response and a further request to DCBL to reply - but got nothing back.

Is there anything to do at present except maybe send another chaser email to the claimant/DCBL whilst awaiting communication from the court?

D_P_Dance

Have you complained to your MP and the SRA?

dadsma

WON!  More letters were sent again explaining the situation to DCBL.  It seems they eventually got the message as the court confirmed DCBL discontinued the case

Coupon-mad

dadsma said:

WON!  More letters were sent again explaining the situation to DCBL.  It seems they eventually got the message as the court confirmed DCBL discontinued the case

Could you confirm the month and year when DCB Legal discontinued please?  @Umkomaas is keeping a tally that has been shown to the Government, so we don't want to miss any discontinuances off his thread.

dadsma

The N279 discontinuance form is dated 10 Feb 2023.  DCBL did not say why they abandoned the case.