Airport no stop zone - CCJ issued. Any value in requesting set aside?

azapater

Hello, 

I have been reading through the newbies thread for advice on instances in which cases were set aside following the issue of a CCJ. These appear to have related to scenarios in which information was sent to the wrong address. Our scenario is different to this: 

My relative, not the registered driver of a car but the keeper, was issued with a parking notice following the driver having stopped within the no stop zone of LBA's car park. My relative did not fly, does not have a passport or driver's licence as he has complex autism and a learning disability. His functioning is in most regards akin to a child in Key Stage 1. The vehicle in question is a motability car.

Ideally, we would have appealed on his behalf in good time and won what I would imagine (based on the newbies thread) is a straight forward case. 

Unfortunately, that was not the case. I would therefore like to understand whether the setting aside of the case would be viable on the basis that he would in no way have the capacity to understand the correspondence received, nor was any information received around issues such as appointing a litigation friend to support him to respond to the courts at any point. 

If this is covered elsewhere on the forum, please feel free to redirect me - I am unsure how the court process operates in relation to those with such a level of vulnerability. 

Further questions would be whether it would be worthwhile, at this stage, complaining to the airport in relation to the claim giving my relative has no source of income other than his DLA/PIP. Should there be no means of combating this, we will obviously deal with the cost as a family but wanted to explore whether there's any room to manoeuvre. 

Thank you in advance for any advice offered.

Coupon-mad

I wonder if @troublemaker22 (a solicitor friend) might be able help with this one because of the extreme vulnerability of the keeper and, as a matter of fact and law, this keeper cannot be legally liable on land under statutory control.  No keeper liability was possible.

But does a CCJ matter to this person?

Fruitcake

I would suggest also that the keeper's advocate/guardian contact their (the keeper's) MP to make a serious complaint about the actions of this rogue unregulated private parking company. All they had to do was a soft trace that costs a few pence to locate the keeper, who was there to be found, and then sent the Letter of/before Claim there before commencing the court claim.

I suggest local and national press and media might be interested about this breach of the Equality Act 2010, which is a criminal offence, and the fact that the keeper cannot/could not be held liable on non relevant land where airport bylaws apply. 
A vociferous complain to the landowner/airport management company should also be made.

Gr1pr

Having read the above,  the vehicle appears to be a Motability vehicle and the disabled keeper will be the Registered Keeper,  but the V5c will be retained by the owner,  Motability.   The address was probably correct,  meaning that the parking company will have issued the PCN to the correct address 

Once it arrived,  plus subsequent letters, plus court letters,  we would assume that there is a person designated to be their carer,  so possibly has Legal or Lasting power of attorney   ? I suppose it depends how old the disabled person is   they can get them from 5 years old,  like blue badges,  irrespective of being able to drive or not 

If the person was over 18 I would expect them to get Universal credit or similar,  as well as DLA or PIP.  The latter would have been given up to Motability in favour of the leased vehicle for 3 to 5 years , DLA/PIP is not an income,  its for various needs,  in this case, a vehicle 

I am not sure why the letters weren't dealt with by a designated adult 

Which parking company   ?  Who or what is LBA  ? Leeds/Bradford   ?  In which case it's V.C.S 

Which airport   ? Heathrow   ?  Gatwick   ? Leeds   ?

If the lessee doesn't fly or drive or have a passport,  why was the driver using the vehicle if not for the keepers benefit   ?

Fruitcake

My DiL has given up (part of) her PIP to have a mobility vehicle provided for her which is driven by my son as she cannot drive and does not have a driving licence. My understanding is that it can be used by another person for social, domestic, pleasure, and commuting purposes provided a specified mileage limit is not exceeded. I can't speak for others, but my son is permitted to use the vehicle for the above reasons, even if his wife is not in it.
If the OP's situation is the same, it is irrelevant whether or not the registered keeper was in the vehicle at the time of the alleged event. In any case, it is irrelevant as far as this alleged parking/stopping event is concerned, even if the vehicle's use did breach the mobility vehicle's permitted terms.

Gr1pr

I agree, so the OP needs to find out this information or pass on the advice and comments to the person who is responsible for assisting the person with the disability,  if there is a designated person,  so that they can act, especially if they have an LPA in place,  or similar 

The other aspects may need addressing if the awkward people like JB at VCS start with pushbacks or curve balls,  even if they dont matter to the parking contract or the outstanding CCJ

My income was not my DLA, it became ESA after IB, but all of my separate DLA award went to Motability , Motability also retained my V5c but it had my name on it as RK , but I was legally able to deal with my affairs,  even if carers were also drivers

The OP needs to understand these basics,  and pass them on where necessary to the correct person or carer 

azapater

Thanks for the responses so far. Yes, sorry, by LBA I meant Leeds/Bradford Airport. My relative's mother is his carer and he is in his 30s. I was the driver. It is my fault for not responding in time, I had told my relative's mother that I would handle this situation, which admittedly I've failed to do promptly. 

The scenario described by Fruitcake reflects the one of our family. Whilst the car is primarily used for my relative's benefit, we do at times use the car for some limited other purposes but nothing out of the ordinary. 

With the above in mind, is this case worth pursuing further given an initial decision has been reached and the address paperwork was sent to was correct? I'm unsure of the scope of setting aside cases. 

Gr1pr

At the moment it's nothing to do with you, you do not have the CCJ , your relative does

The keeper or carer should have named the driver at the time to transfer liability to you as driver,  in order for you to deal with it,  plus to get the keeper out of the equation regarding liability,  although the keeper had no liability due to it being an airport , no POFA,  not relevant land  !

Once a pcn came with your name on it, you could have dealt with it,  except VCS would not have cancelled it,  so it would have been yourself that was sued

The RK or carer must check if the keeper qualifies for a no fee set aside, ( help with fees  ) otherwise a set aside costs £303, regardless of if its successful or not .  I would also suggest checking who has the power to assist the keeper?  Or to do the work on behalf of the keeper,  because you haven't answered that legal question yet 

If his mother is the carer of an adult,  her son , there should be a legal mechanism in place for her to deal with his legal affairs on his behalf , which I thought would be an LPA, or maybe this instead   ?

A Guardianship Order is a court appointment which authorises a person to act and make decisions on behalf of an adult with incapacity

This is not as simple as when an adult victim with standard faculties are involved,  like nearly all the other cases on here.   It requires specialist knowledge or experiences regarding the legal arguments surrounding this poor keeper who may have the capacity to deal with legal matters,  or not

On what date was the CCJ issued   ?

I agree that maybe troublemaker or someone with similar legal skills may know better,  or possibly assist 

Coupon-mad

No 'decision' has been reached.

No Judge even looked at it. This is a default judgment. Done automatically by the Claimant's legal firm pressing a button themselves. Shocking, innit?

This CCJ should be set aside on the compelling grounds that this keeper cannot possibly be legally liable for a parking charge on this land and they lacked capacity to respond.

But please answer: how does a CCJ matter?

azapater

Gr1pr said:

At the moment it's nothing to do with you, you do not have the CCJ , your relative does

The keeper or carer should have named the driver at the time to transfer liability to you as driver,  in order for you to deal with it,  plus to get the keeper out of the equation regarding liability,  although the keeper had no liability due to it being an airport , no POFA,  not relevant land  !

Once a pcn came with your name on it, you could have dealt with it,  except VCS would not have cancelled it,  so it would have been yourself that was sued

The RK or carer must check if the keeper qualifies for a no fee set aside, ( help with fees  ) otherwise a set aside costs £303, regardless of if its successful or not .  I would also suggest checking who has the power to assist the keeper?  Or to do the work on behalf of the keeper,  because you haven't answered that legal question yet 

If his mother is the carer of an adult,  her son , there should be a legal mechanism in place for her to deal with his legal affairs on his behalf , which I thought would be an LPA, or maybe this instead   ?

A Guardianship Order is a court appointment which authorises a person to act and make decisions on behalf of an adult with incapacity

This is not as simple as when an adult victim with standard faculties are involved,  like nearly all the other cases on here.   It requires specialist knowledge or experiences regarding the legal arguments surrounding this poor keeper who may have the capacity to deal with legal matters,  or not

On what date was the CCJ issued   ?

I agree that maybe troublemaker or someone with similar legal skills may know better,  or possibly assist 

Thank you - we will look into exploring no fee set asides. The question you ask on the legal mechanism is interesting - his mother has always received carers allowance so I presume that's the closest we have to formality. We've not previously had a situation which has necessitated us clarifying things legally. He's just always received around the clock care from her as his carer and myself as a secondary carer in terms of taking him out in the local community etc. 

The CCJ was issued on the 18th December. 

Gr1pr

He must be receiving government sent letters,  DWP, Inland Revenue,  DVLA, Motability,  Banks etc , never mind parking pcns or bus lane penalties or council penalties,  Police matters etc

So somebody is or was dealing with them somehow,  unless he is conducting his own legal matters  ?

Either he or his carer failed to seek proper advice when this pcn arrived,  or with the follow-up letters , or the court claim itself last month,  neither have you helped by doing nothing either,  until its too late 

You have not answered several questions too, like why does The CCJ actually matter to the debtor   ?  The defendant  ?

Frankly,  I am surprised that nothing else has happened since this person turned 18 , especially these days with all the red tape 

What would he do if he received a speeding notice or bus lane penalty,  or letter from the Inland Revenue or DWP  etc  ? Or needed to provide consent for an operation   ? There doesn't seem to be any Guardianship in place to allow another person to deal with his financial affairs or health issues on his behalf 

If going for the set aside,  who will be signing the forms and attending court   ?