UKPC (DCB Legal) CC Claim - Allocated to Court - Discontinued today!

Coupon-mad

Looks fine, then the rest of the Template Defence.

B789

Why do you mention "suspected" in relation to your disability? If a Judge were to ask you "Do you have osteoarthritis or not?" How would you answer that? The Claimant could insist that a "suspected" case of osteoarthritis is not osteoarthritis and therefore your claim that you have a protected characteristic under the EA is not valid. 

If you are uncomfortable with not using the word "suspected", why not just say you have it and it is under investigation?

Vikom04

@B789

I'll change the wording - Suspected because it's not officially diagnosed on the medical records yet. But you take one look at her hands and you can tell it's osteoarthritis. She's been referred by the GP for her hip and I've told her to get the hands officially diagnosed.

B789

Vikom04 said:

I'll change the wording - Suspected because it's not officially diagnosed on the medical records yet. But you take one look at her hands and you can tell it's osteoarthritis. She's been referred by the GP for her hip and I've told her to get the hands officially diagnosed.

I'm just trying to point out that you need to be very careful how you word these Defences and Statements. It is often worth reading what you have written from the point of view of the Claimant or the Judge to see how anything is perceived.

In this case, it is probable that the Defendant has been to the doctor with osteoarthritis and it is under investigation. Just using the word "suspected" gives the C or the J an opportunity to challenge something that could go against them.

Coupon-mad

You don't need a formal diagnosis to meet the definition of disability in the Equality Act.

A chronic condition that is considered a 'protected characteristic' is about the symptoms and the effect on daily living. Not the label.

It would be enough to reference a chronic hip and joint condition which has affected mobility and dexterity for more than 12 months and will continue to cause detriment to her day to day living.  This is likely to be osteoarthritis, currently being referred for medical intervention and there was indisputably a medical need for more time on the material date. 

Vikom04

Hi all,

Thanks for your help previously.

We recently got the anticipated response that the client intends to proceed etc...

We're waiting for the N180 to be sent from the court, rather than the pre-filled out nonsense DCB sent.

I've checked MCOL online and nothing is updated on their with regards to an N180 being sent out.

Q1.

If I declare there will be '2' witnesses on the N180, can I go with my mum to help her on any points of evidence relied upon in the WS (if so, does this have to be highlighted in the WS bundle?) or will I be limited to speak only on certain points i.e. giving evidence that she provided child care on the date of the parking event 

In anticipation of completing the WS, I have few questions prior to completing the WS which I'd be grateful for some guidance on.

I've read the required threads to understand what I need to do. I've been looking at the forum topics for WS and I understand people are being directed to  @aphex007 or @SJRRJS defence, which I've downloaded the latest versions of.

Q2.

Is there anything else more recent or applicable for DCBL/UKPC that I might be missing? I understand that SJRRJS lost the case but from what I can gather, this isn't attributed to the actual WS content as such...

Q3.

One thing I want to make sure I'm not missing when it comes to the formatting of the WS; the exhibits listed on the contents page and their respective individual pages, they are labelled as 'xx-01' or 'Exhibit xx-01' - Is the 'xx' meant as some form of redaction or is that how they are supposed to be listed? What should be going here if it is redacted?

Many thanks,

Vikom04

KeithP

Vikom04 said:

Q1.

If I declare there will be '2' witnesses on the N180, can I go with my mum to help her on any points of evidence relied upon in the WS (if so, does this have to be highlighted in the WS bundle?) or will I be limited to speak only on certain points i.e. giving evidence that she provided child care on the date of the parking event. 

Just put '1' in that box.
You can also attend as a Lay Representative. This will allow you to answer all the questions directed at the Defendant, unless of course the Judge specifically asks for a response from the Defendant but that's unusual.
Have a read of The Lay Representatives (Rights of Audience) Order 1999.
It's a simple read - just one page. Take it with you and mention it to the usher when you arrive at court.

Vikom04 said:

Q3.

One thing I want to make sure I'm not missing when it comes to the formatting of the WS; the exhibits listed on the contents page and their respective individual pages, they are labelled as 'xx-01' or 'Exhibit xx-01' - Is the 'xx' meant as some form of redaction or is that how they are supposed to be listed? What should be going here if it is redacted?

The xx should be replaced by the Defendant's initials.
So for example a defendant named Margaret Thatcher, exhibits in her Defence would be labelled MT-01, MT-02, etc.

Vikom04

Hi @KeithP and all,

I've been gathering and preparing everything for the WS bundle.

The last action was submitting the defence on time. (24th April). We then got the letter from DCB Legal saying 'our client intend to proceed with the claim' was dated 22nd May along with their pre-completed N180 (which wont be sent anywhere!). The letter states the court will direct both parties to file directions questionnaire in due course.

My question is; when will this N180 come from the court and is there a time scale, for it either being struck out or is there a clock ticking for me to download it and complete it myself? Am I putting myself at a disadvantage by waiting for the court to send it through?

I have been checking the MCOL claim history and nothing has been updated since the Defence was submitted.

Many thanks for your help.

Coupon-mad

Seems to take about 2 months at the moment so should arrive fairly soon.

KeithP

The CCBC sent you a letter, or will send you a letter, saying the Claimant has twenty eight days to consider your Defence.

What you don't know is when the CCBC sent a copy of your Defence to the Claimant. It follows from that that it is not known when the Claimant has to respond to the CCBC.

Further, we don't know what delays there are in the CCBC that means they don't send you a Directions Questionnaire as promptly as you might like.

And this recent thread indicates that longer delays are likely... CCBC are currently 26 days behind with DQs

Can I suggest that you keep checking your MCOL Claim History and as soon as you see that the CCBC has sent a DQ to you, you are ready to download a DQ, complete it and fire it back at the CCBC, remembering to send a copy to the Claimant of course?