Court Hearing at Birmingham County Court Next Week - Do Gladstones Actually Turn Up?

hh2000

Hi everyone,

I have a court hearing at Birmingham County Court next week against Euro Parking Services Ltd, with Gladstones acting for the Claimant. I have filed my defence and witness evidence as per the instructions on this forum. However, I'm pretty surprised that Gladstones is actually still pursuing this - I assumed that when they realised that I'm not taking it lying down, that they'd discontinue the claim. Instead, today, I received their trial bundle, with my witness statement at the end. 

Does anyone know if Gladstones actually bother turning up? It doesn't seem to make sense to me to send someone to Birmingham from Warrington, when the maximum a judge would probably award them is £100. The fact they're continuing is making me doubt the quality of my defence, which I previously thought to be pretty decent. To summarise, the main points I'm relying on are:

• I ask for the claim to be struck out due to the sparsity of the Particulars of Claims (POC), given it violates Civil Procedure Rules, relying on Civil Enforcement Limited v Chan. 
• The car park was pitch dark, given that it was unlit, and we entered the car park at 3am (given this was over a year ago, and at 3am, we can't remember who was driving). I have provided photographic evidence that all the lighting in the car park is faulty. Moreover, the images provided by the Claimant also demonstrate that the car park was pitch dark. Other users of this forum have said the same: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6381000/euro-parking-services-pcn-gladstones-help-please-review-my-defense.
• As such, I argue that since the Claimant's POC considers the car park signage to be the "Contract", and it was impossible to see the signage, I cannot be bound by its terms. This also gives rise to violations of the Consumer Rights Act.
• I ask for the claim to be struck out given the £60 in 'Contractual Costs' that are claimed, relying on Excel v Wilkinson. This £60 charge is not mentioned in the car park signage provided in the Claimant's Witness Statement, nor could it have been seen in the dark anyway.
• The £50 claimed in legal costs is disproportionate given the POC is a template.

I considered this to be fairly strong, but their continuance with the case is making me worried. Are they known to turn up? And why are they dragging this out instead of discontinuing? 

Thank you in advance!

Gr1pr

Gladstone's never turn up, its usually a jobbing advocate employed at the last minute, so ALWAYS assume that Someone will turn up, but nothing Gladstone's 

patient_dream

Gladstones or their "rent by the hour" legal might not turn up, we have seen this before
YOU MUST ATTEND otherwise you will get a default

Gladstones are well known to the judges Because their cases are normally very weak, some might say rubbish, make sure you have your costs claim ready
If they don't attend, ensure the judge knows your costs for unreasonable behaviour

Coupon-mad

They usually send a rep. Read a few Gladstones hearing threads.

hh2000

patient_dream said:

Gladstones or their "rent by the hour" legal might not turn up, we have seen this before
YOU MUST ATTEND otherwise you will get a default

Gladstones are well known to the judges Because their cases are normally very weak, some might say rubbish, make sure you have your costs claim ready
If they don't attend, ensure the judge knows your costs for unreasonable behaviour

Thank you everyone for your replies - which costs am I entitled to claim beyond transportation? I've spent an awful lot of time researching for my defence, given my lack of prior legal experience, but am I able to claim costs related to this time?

Coupon-mad

This is explained in the NEWBIES thread in more detail but £95.

hh2000

Coupon-mad said:

This is explained in the NEWBIES thread in more detail but £95.

If I haven't filed these as part of my witness statement, am I able to present my costs to the judge on the day?

Gr1pr

Submit it as a supplementary document to court and claimant, take a copy on the day, plus proof of loss of earnings, wageslips etc, receipt for parking on the day, no ambushes , ideally it would be in your bundle, clearly not at the moment 

Umkomaas

hh2000 said:

Coupon-mad said:

This is explained in the NEWBIES thread in more detail but £95.

If I haven't filed these as part of my witness statement, am I able to present my costs to the judge on the day?

No. Send it 7 days before, with a copy to Gladstones. 

hh2000

I'm planning on claiming £95 of fixed costs - but should I also include 10 hours at the £19/hr litigant in person rate, in case they do not turn up? 

JoeN1988

Yes. Not turning up to a claim filed by themselves meets the bar for unreasonable behaviour.

Search the forum for Costs Assessment. Ideally send it in advance to the court and the claimant.