CCJ Confusion - Can It Be Set Aside After 30 Days?

jarq

Hi all,

I’m seeking some advice on a bit of a mix-up I’ve had. I recently received a County Court Judgment (CCJ) and didn’t pay it within the 30-day period. Unfortunately, I had two claims going on at the same time, and I mistakenly thought they were related to the same case. Because of this, I didn’t check the claim numbers closely and ended up not addressing one of them correctly.

Is there any chance of getting the CCJ set aside due to this genuine mistake? Has anyone been in a similar situation and managed to sort it out? I’d really appreciate any advice or guidance.

Thanks in advance!

Fruitcake

You may be able to get it set aside, especially if the claims are identical from the same claimant. If the latter applies then you should cite estoppel/cause of action estoppel and Henderson v Henderson.

I believe there is advice on how to apply for a set aside in the second post of the NEWBIES.

jarq

Unfortunately, one is from ParkingEye, and the other is from Gladstone. So, do you think it's worth trying? Yeah, I think you're talking about filing an N244. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Coupon-mad

Which one has got the CCJ? Which solicitor was involved in the CCJ one, or was it ParkingEye in-house?

jarq

Gladstone, the case with ParkingEye is ongoing.

Coupon-mad

Wondering if it's worth a punt spending £119 on an application WITHOUT a hearing and adapting the draft order and 'short defence' by @LDast into a draft order and witness statement...

...basically saying the clock had never started to defend a claim so poorly pleaded that it was impossible to interpret the allegation. As per CPR 13.3 the D has acted promptly and the claim should be struck out or re-pleaded properly, and in either case the CCJ be set aside.

It is a risk though. If a Judge doesn't agree with the premise of the draft order & application, that's a CCJ on your credit rating for 6 years.

LDast

The issue is that no judge in their right mind is going to ignore the short defence because they are going to read it. They know they don’t have to trawl through the long defence which they know.

in the words of the judge…”I want to see if X does this before I order Y to do that.”

LDast

If the OP knew there was an ongoing claim, on what basis did they lose the claim that they’re trying to get set aside now?

Coupon-mad

By not defending in time.

But it looks like there are good reasons to set aside the CCJ, which was what I suggested could be tried but it is a CCJ risk to do it.

jarq

I looked at @LDast post with the short defense, but I don’t understand how to do it. Do you mind explaining how to do it step by step? Also, which form requires the £119 fee? 

Coupon-mad

You'll have to pay a £303 fee because you will need a hearing to try to convince a Judge that there is "good reason" to set the CCJ aside.

You need to read the CCJ set aside section of the NEWBIES thread and a shedload of posts by @henrik777 to understand CPR 13.3.  That's the approach. Because the claim was properly served,  your application needs pleading well to appeal to the Judge's discretion.

And it will need a proper defence.