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

Ubersmush

@HH2000 - Good luck for the upcoming case. I have mine coming up also. How did you submit your witness statement to Gladstones. Did you email it or send via post?

hh2000

I sent it both by First Class post and email - but I imagine email is sufficient, since they have also emailed me documents.

Umkomaas

Ubersmush said:

@HH2000 - Good luck for the upcoming case. I have mine coming up also. How did you submit your witness statement to Gladstones. Did you email it or send via post?

hh2000 said:

I sent it both by First Class post and email - but I imagine email is sufficient, since they have also emailed me documents.

If using Royal Mail, obtain free Certificate of Posting from your Post Office counter, which means (by law) that the envelope/package was delivered on the second working day after posting (regardless of any protestations to the contrary). 

hh2000

Hi everyone,

I've received the following from Gladstones regarding my schedule of costs. I was under the impression that 
(1) A schedule of costs did not require a statement of truth, and could be submitted a week before the hearing 
(2) It does not have to follow a particular format in the same way as, say, a Particulars of Claim does
---------------

The Defendant’s costs are opposed.

This is a low value claim, limited to no more than £254 which arose as a result of unpaid Parking Charge

Notice (PCN) issued to the Defendant by the Claimant for a parking contravention which occurred on private

land managed by the Claimant.

The Claim

The terms and conditions of parking at the site being a “30 minute maximum stay” and the Defendant’s

vehicle being observed to enter the Site at 02:59 and exit at 03:50 thus far exceeding the maximum stay

period. As a result, the Defendant is liable for the parking charge notice from which this claim arises.

The Defendant seeks costs for unreasonable behaviour of the basis of a failure to comply with CPR in relation

to the Particulars of Claim. Given that the Defendant was able to file a substantive defence in this case, albeit

a generic defence found on the internet, it is denied that the Defendant was prejudiced in any away or that he

was unaware of the facts of the case.

Notwithstanding the above, in view of the low value of the claim, proceedings were issued via the Civil

National Business Centre’s Money Claims Online Portal (MCOL) which only allows the Claimant to insert

brief details of the Claim and was issued pursuant to paragraph 5.2A of Practice Direction 7E states “the

requirement in paragraph 7.3. As a result, the Claimant submits that they have complied.

Other factors to be taken into consideration are that the Claimant is a parking operator who issues a

considerable number of claims each month relating to unpaid parking charges, all of which are low value

claims of no more than £250-£300, it is deemed disproportionate and unreasonable for the Claimant not to be

permitted to have access to and make use of MCOL and to incur unnecessary costs of issuing each claim

manually with full particulars of claim and evidence annexed thereto.

It is submitted in any event, that the allegations in relation to the particulars of claim should be raised at an

early stage in the proceedings. The case is now listed for final hearing and it is unreasonable for the Claimant

to issue further and better particulars at such a late.

The burden of proof in relation to unreasonable behaviour rests with the Defendant and he is therefore put to

strict proof.

It is also noted that whilst the Defendant raises the issue of failure to comply with CPR, the “Schedule of

Costs” he has submitted is not in the correct format pursuant to CPR, nor has it been verified with a statement

of truth or signature. The Schedule of Costs is therefore flawed.

It is also submitted that the costs sought by the Defendant are disproportionate and have not been incurred.

The Defendant claims 11 hours for the defending the case, yet the defence filed is a generic defence

downloaded from the internet and thus, not a document drafted by the Defendant. It is also noted that the

statement filed by the Defendant is also taken from the generic defence. As a result the Schedule of Costs is

flawed as it is denied the Defendant has spent 11 hours defending the claim.
------------------------------------------

Umkomaas

This might be of interest. 

https://www.judiciary.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Guide-to-the-Summary-Assessment-of-Costs-2021-Final1.pdf

hh2000

I believe an adequate response in court would be that they did not send me the rest of the Particulars of Claims within 14 days as instructed by 16PD3. The only idea I got of their case was the witness statement they sent much later. I will also mention that the fact I was able to put together a case has nothing to do with their POC being sufficient - given that most of the defence rests on it (1) being pitch dark,(2) multiple violations of the CPR and (3) the £60 added costs. If they had provided more in their POC, the defence could have been more substantial. 

Do you believe that's adequate? Thank you for all your help so far!

Coupon-mad

I'd file and serve a signed & dated version by post tomorrow, 1st class.  If in time...

hh2000

Would an email be fine? I was unaware it needed to be signed with a statement of truth as I basically followed the examples on the forum but added some context as to why I was claiming costs for unreasonable behaviour. Would it be thrown out a judge for that reason? I assumed costs could be awarded more or less verbally at the end of a hearing with the judge.

As an aside, my reasoning, in case it benefits someone, is as below:

Coupon-mad

Don't quote an online Blog! A Judge will not place any store in that. Only rely on the actual case transcript which looks to be CEL v Chan.

And DDJ Harvey of the Brighton/Worthing court circuit retired years ago after being virtually (unfairly IMHO) slapped for a decision overturned (badly wrongly IMHO) by His Honour Judge Simpkiss, so a retired Judge's cases mean nothing much (same as any unreported county court decisions).

I too thought that a Costs Assessment needed no signature but I have now read the link by @Umkomaas and am going by that.

You may as well post a signed version 1st class to the solicitor & court unless your hearing is Wednesday. Take a signed version with you and wage slips to prove loss of leave or salary for attending court.

hh2000

The blog (which belongs to a law firm that employs Mr, Yamba), is just being used there to evidence that Gladstones have had dozens of cases thrown out (sometimes at the same time) and is being unreasonable as a result. Of course, in the actual argument, I rely on CEL v Chan.