Another Euro Car Parks Case to Phone Hearing at St.Helens

Gr1pr

Well done,  Another one bites the dust  !

Euro Car Parks   ( ECP  ) via DCB Legal,  went to civil court,  possibly due to the electric charging aspect,  plus the number of pcns involved,  so must have cost them hundreds of pounds,  to get zero

1505grandad

Very well done  -  did you ask for costs?

runnerboy90

I did, this was successful. 

I didn't get the £300 for the day off work and the 20 hours of legal work at £19/hour but I got the costs. The Claimant "respectfully requested" the court limit it to that. 

Once I get the document, I'll add it!

Gr1pr

So you probably got around £95  ?

runnerboy90

I think it was £85, I don't have it in my notes but I will update once I get the documentation. I'm going to frame it! 

ChirpyChicken

Well done you.

doubledotcom

It's a pity you didn't bring up the fact that the claim was issued by a person unauthorised to conduct litigation, as you would then have been able to claim the costs, if you'd referred to the recent Mazur Hight Court ruling.

Still, well done and thank you for giving your version of events in court that dispels the myth for so many that court is something they should be scared of.

Le_Kirk

Well done on the win - you did exactly the right thing in your preparation.

Car1980

Well done, but how ridiculous that it wasn't in the defendant's court. It sounds like you didn't claim the 170 mile round trip?! At 45p a mile that's £153!

It only went to a hearing because it was down the road from DCB Legal's office and I suspect they weren't expecting you to turn up!

doubledotcom

I have had multiple cases that were allocated to St Helens but they were assigned as telephone hearings. There was a period where some numpty in the CNBC was moronically allocating the claims to St Helens for some obscure reason, in breach of CPR 26.2A(2) which gives the default right for small claims to be heard at the defendant’s local court. Also Practice Direction 26, Paragraph 19.2 – Small Claims Venue

“The preferred hearing venue for a small claim is the defendant’s home court, defined as the hearing centre serving the address where the defendant resides or carries on business.”

So, unless there are compelling reasons to the contrary (such as a counterclaim, agreement between parties, or logistical issues), the default venue for a small claims hearing should be the defendant’s home court.

I advised the defendant to complaint to St Helens court on the following basis and it was put before a judge and a new allocation order was issued, sending the claim to the defendants local county court:

In accordance with the Overriding Objective at CPR 1.1 and the general practice in small claims, it is submitted that the hearing should be transferred to the Defendant’s local County Court. This is particularly important in cases involving litigants in person who are at a significant disadvantage when proceedings are conducted remotely or far from their residence.

While the Civil Procedure Rules no longer contain a specific paragraph mandating this, HMCTS guidance and common practice continue to reflect the principle that small claims are normally heard at the defendant’s local court, especially where one party is represented and the other is not.

CPR 1.1(2)(d) requires the Court to ensure that parties are on an equal footing, and CPR 1.1(2)(e) stresses that the Court should deal with the case in a way that is fair and proportionate. A telephone hearing in a case where the Claimant is represented by legal professionals and the Defendant is a lay person presents a clear risk of procedural unfairness.

The Defendant therefore intends to respectfully request an adjournment and a transfer to the Defendant’s local County Court at the beginning of the hearing, in line with these principles.