Preparing a defence at county court

Gr1pr

Both of you already have those 2 deadline dates,  so it's easy to work out the answer to that question,  because one precedes the other

Expect a discontinuance before the hearing fee deadline 

innocentparker

@Gr1pr
 
Not easy to understand for me unfortunately having never been in this situation before. I accept you may not know the answer although your reply suggests you do ? 

22/10 WS required by both parties
06/11 Claimant to have paid the £27 court fee

My question being does the claimant get access to my evidence prior to 06/11 ? 

They will, having looked at my evidence decide whether to pay the court fee or discontinue. 

Gr1pr

They will have your Witness Statement plus Exhibits bundle by the 22nd October,  which precedes the hearing fee deadline by 2 weeks,  so it's obvious that they will have everything they need to make that decision before they have to decide to pay or discontinue  !  Just as night follows day 

Frankly,  it's not often that any claimant is actually involved in the process,  because most of them have a legal firm dealing with it,  in your case it's DCB LEGAL,  so there is virtually no doubt that they will discontinue before the hearing fee deadline 

If you reveal your cards to the opposition 14 days before they have to pay or fold,  then it's only to be expected that their decision will be based on what the 2 participants have put forward to the court 

Car1980

22/10 WS required by both parties

You exchange witness statements on or before that date. So whoever files first gives the other side time to see the other's.

Sometimes parking companies send theirs as soon as possible to intimidate the other side, especially if they use a template many many pages long. Sometimes they wait until the last minute hoping the other side has forgotten.

A late discontinuance exposes DCB Legal to unreasonable costs though. You could file yours early and then apply for extra costs for your WS  if/when they discontinue. 

innocentparker

@Gr1pr @Car1980
Thats cleared it up thanks. I wasn’t sure whether evidence was actually exchanged prior to a hearing but you’ve both confirmed it does.