Actions before small claims court with council

1990xrider

Dave_5150 said:

Noted, I will sort everything out asap.

Also, I've been told on another forum that the defendant can make an application to have their legal fees paid by me in the SCC. Is this right? To my knowledge, only the judge has the ability to impose such sanction on a claimant in the case of irresponsible conduct etc. I will avoid the above. I guess though it won't look too good for the council with them having refused the offer of mediation whilst I have been keen to go for it. 

Have a look in the "Expenses can be awarded against you if you lose" section in this MSE link.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/small-claims-court/#cost

Thanks, is this a given (with the days lost), and could I charge this as well? 

I do wonder because they seem keen to let it go to court even though it must be costing them a lot in legal fees

Then again , they bluffed about getting the case struck out so this may just be a bluff In the hope I pull out. If I did pull out , would I be liable for any of their legal fees? 

Also they didn't put down they wanted an expert witness in the questionnaire could they change that 

Could the hearing find the council liable for some of the claim, eg, the damage identified by garage 1, but not liable for the damage at garage 2, rather than a binary yes/no for the entire claim?

lcc86

1990xrider said:

Dave_5150 said:

Noted, I will sort everything out asap.

Also, I've been told on another forum that the defendant can make an application to have their legal fees paid by me in the SCC. Is this right? To my knowledge, only the judge has the ability to impose such sanction on a claimant in the case of irresponsible conduct etc. I will avoid the above. I guess though it won't look too good for the council with them having refused the offer of mediation whilst I have been keen to go for it. 

Have a look in the "Expenses can be awarded against you if you lose" section in this MSE link.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/small-claims-court/#cost

Thanks, is this a given (with the days lost), and could I charge this as well? 

I do wonder because they seem keen to let it go to court even though it must be costing them a lot in legal fees

Then again , they bluffed about getting the case struck out so this may just be a bluff In the hope I pull out. If I did pull out , would I be liable for any of their legal fees? 

Also they didn't put down they wanted an expert witness in the questionnaire could they change that 

Could the hearing find the council liable for some of the claim, eg, the damage identified by garage 1, but not liable for the damage at garage 2, rather than a binary yes/no for the entire claim?

Yes it may be costing them a lot but if their solicitor thinks they are in the right they will fight it. After all if they didn't fight it and just paid you out even if they thought they were right they'd potentially open themselves up to other people claiming (not saying that's what your doing but just giving an alternative view). I think it could be tricky to prove they are definitely liable but interested in the outcome.

1990xrider

lcc86 said:

1990xrider said:

Dave_5150 said:

Noted, I will sort everything out asap.

Also, I've been told on another forum that the defendant can make an application to have their legal fees paid by me in the SCC. Is this right? To my knowledge, only the judge has the ability to impose such sanction on a claimant in the case of irresponsible conduct etc. I will avoid the above. I guess though it won't look too good for the council with them having refused the offer of mediation whilst I have been keen to go for it. 

Have a look in the "Expenses can be awarded against you if you lose" section in this MSE link.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/small-claims-court/#cost

Thanks, is this a given (with the days lost), and could I charge this as well? 

I do wonder because they seem keen to let it go to court even though it must be costing them a lot in legal fees

Then again , they bluffed about getting the case struck out so this may just be a bluff In the hope I pull out. If I did pull out , would I be liable for any of their legal fees? 

Also they didn't put down they wanted an expert witness in the questionnaire could they change that 

Could the hearing find the council liable for some of the claim, eg, the damage identified by garage 1, but not liable for the damage at garage 2, rather than a binary yes/no for the entire claim?

Yes it may be costing them a lot but if their solicitor thinks they are in the right they will fight it. After all if they didn't fight it and just paid you out even if they thought they were right they'd potentially open themselves up to other people claiming (not saying that's what your doing but just giving an alternative view). I think it could be tricky to prove they are definitely liable but interested in the outcome.

True yes, its just they will look less favourable for not being willing to mediate, and even if they do win, they'll have still paid thousands in legal fees to avoid paying a few hundred pounds, and chances are the general public wouldn't be much the wiser, and most aren't willing to spend months investigating the council, paying court fees, making the claim, attending court etc etc. 

Like you said whatever the result it will be interesting, as I have found a scant lack of anything online about anyone who has posted about taking the council to court over potholes, no matter the outcome. I know small claims cases can't really serve as "test cases", but I also see this as having a judge look at the method of how this council determines potholes.

This is because in my case, Essex County Council never measured the pothole - they used an estimation from a vehicle travelling at speed (20-30mph I believe in this instance). So how could they possibly be in a position to determine the size of the hole, especially as it was filled with water.

1990xrider

Another twist in a case where nothing is predictable. Now the small claims mediation service have emailed me informing I have a mediation appointment within 4 weeks. This is despite the council saying they did not wish to have mediation. 

lcc86

1990xrider said:

Another twist in a case where nothing is predictable. Now the small claims mediation service have emailed me informing I have a mediation appointment within 4 weeks. This is despite the council saying they did not wish to have mediation. 

Fingers crossed it goes well.

tedted

why hes trying to get betterment and the speed he was doing would not have caused the damage he is trying to claim for

1990xrider

tedted said:

why hes trying to get betterment and the speed he was doing would not have caused the damage he is trying to claim for

The pothole was 8 inches deep mate. Was it just a coincidence then that my car was rattling after I drove over it? If I had been going faster, it could have been much worse.

Do you seriously think I would get some random repairs on my car, and say "oh yeah, i'll tell you what i'll do, i'll try and say this pothole caused them and get a claim from the council". Something which has yet to happen because its taken months of work.....if I wanted that money, I could have just gone to my insurers and got it paid out for , no questions asked. I might have had a marginally higher premium but I would have got my money back. 

It is a matter for the courts if the council do not opt for mediation, which I don't think they will because that would require some kind of admission of responsibility on their part. 

It's been pretty stressful, especially when it looked like the council were trying to get the case thrown out, it would be a pretty stupid thing to do to just make it up.

The first garage I got my car repaired at I showed the mechanic the footage and he said it definitely caused it. 

1990xrider

Ok a couple questions

Firstly how do I pay the court hearing fee ?
Secondly, when would be a good time to send my evidence off to the council/court? I would say 90% of what I will rely on is there.

sevenhills

1990xrider said:

£366.01 
Included 

New front suspension links + labour cost 
New shock absorbers + labour cost

The video I have shown them quite clearly shows the front left of the car dip into the hole and I'm only going at walking pace (2mph)

Surely any damage caused by a pothole would only cause damage to one side, or did the pothole cover the entire width of the road?

How old is the car, have these shock absorbers been replaced before etc.

1990xrider

sevenhills said:

1990xrider said:

£366.01 
Included 

New front suspension links + labour cost 
New shock absorbers + labour cost

The video I have shown them quite clearly shows the front left of the car dip into the hole and I'm only going at walking pace (2mph)

Surely any damage caused by a pothole would only cause damage to one side, or did the pothole cover the entire width of the road?

How old is the car, have these shock absorbers been replaced before etc.

\i'm not sure; I'm not a mechanic. 
The car was fourteen years old, I don't know if they had been replaced before.
However if the pothole accelerated the demise of an ageing part to me (and i believe a court) that is still something the council is liable for as had I not hit the hole it may not have occured. The fact that this happened in the aftermath of hitting the hole would have to be a huge coincidence.