Is it possible to restrict to a SMALL CLAIMS COURT ?

bebu

hi everyone,
quick update. I want to lodge legal proceedings in the small claims court, however total expense I have paid to date is about £16,000 and a number of issues

1. All NO WIN NO FEE solicitors, say its below £50,000 and not worth their time

2. I am told if I restrict it to a small claims and insist on £10,000. Its the discretion of the courts or the respondent to change it to a FAST TRACK claims and could get very nasty and overly protracted


MOVING FORWARD

I am adviced, if i enter the full amount, but insist I want to waive £6,000, to drop it to £10,000. It can be accepted to be heard in a small claims court. But its the discretion of the judge


PLEASE ADVICE

owls1867

Claims up to the value of £10k can be heard in a civil court -  Anything above that amount, it will need to fast tracked which takes longer. 

More info here:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5b4c7cd9ed915d438916e155/ex305-eng.pdf

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5b4c7cffe5274a732fa15504/ex306-eng.pdf

In either case, if the defendant wishes to challenge your suit then it will be quite a drawn out process - so just prepare yourself that things won't be sorted quickly if you can't agree to an amicable amount. 

Section62

bebu said:

hi everyone,
quick update. I want to lodge legal proceedings in the small claims court, however total expense I have paid to date is about £16,000 and a number of issues

1. All NO WIN NO FEE solicitors, say its below £50,000 and not worth their time

2. I am told if I restrict it to a small claims and insist on £10,000. Its the discretion of the courts or the respondent to change it to a FAST TRACK claims and could get very nasty and overly protracted


MOVING FORWARD

I am adviced, if i enter the full amount, but insist I want to waive £6,000, to drop it to £10,000. It can be accepted to be heard in a small claims court. But its the discretion of the judge


PLEASE ADVICE

It is the courts that decide which track a claim will be heard on, you can't restrict them.  If a judge decides the case is not suitable for a particular track then it is their choice to switch.

I'd also be cautious about amending the value of your claim simply to get below a court threshold.  Get the wrong judge on a bad day and they could take issue with you for doing so.

bebu

I am told and checked it on the website the following

you can abandon part of your claim to reduce its value to £10,000 or less, thereby making it eligible for the small claims track.

Legal Basis for Abandoning Part of a Claim

CPR Part 38 governs the discontinuance of all or part of a claim. Specifically, Rule 38.2(1) states that a claimant may discontinue all or part of a claim against one or more defendants at any time. This means you can abandon a portion of your claim to bring the total amount within the small claims limit.

To do this, you must file a Notice of Discontinuance and serve a copy on every other party to the proceedings, as outlined in Rule 38.3(1). This procedure allows you to formally abandon part of your claim.

After filing the notice, you may need to amend your statement of case to reflect the reduced claim amount. According to CPR Part 17, if you have filed a notice under Part 38 discontinuing part of a claim, you may amend your statement of case without the court's permission to give effect to the discontinuance.

Considerations

• Costs: Even when abandoning part of a claim, you may be liable for the defendant's costs incurred up to that point. However, in small claims track cases, recoverable costs are generally limited.

• Court's Discretion: The court has discretion to allocate claims to the appropriate track. Reducing your claim to £10,000 or less increases the likelihood of it being allocated to the small claims track, but the court will consider all circumstances.

For detailed guidance, you can refer to the Civil Procedure Rules and consult with a legal advisor to ensure compliance with all procedural requirements.

MyRealNameToo

owls1867 said:

Claims up to the value of £10k can be heard in a civil court -  Anything above that amount, it will need to fast tracked which takes longer. 

Fast track is also the "civil court"? Think you mean small track?

bebu said:

hi everyone,
quick update. I want to lodge legal proceedings in the small claims court, however total expense I have paid to date is about £16,000 and a number of issues

1. All NO WIN NO FEE solicitors, say its below £50,000 and not worth their time

2. I am told if I restrict it to a small claims and insist on £10,000. Its the discretion of the courts or the respondent to change it to a FAST TRACK claims and could get very nasty and overly protracted


MOVING FORWARD

I am adviced, if i enter the full amount, but insist I want to waive £6,000, to drop it to £10,000. It can be accepted to be heard in a small claims court. But its the discretion of the judge


PLEASE ADVICE

No win, no fee will only get paid by keeping some of your award in Small Track, in Fast Track they will also get a fixed sum from the defendant if you win. Hence you'll almost never get no win no fee in small track cases but it starts being possible in fast track. Sounds like the firm you spoke to are only interested in Multi-Track cases where the fees become uncapped but certainly others will work in lower tracks if they feel the balance of effort, reward and risk are good enough. 


The allocation to a track is supposed to be predominately on the complexity and therefore how long a case should take to hear. Whilst cost is a significant consideration it is far from the only one, requests for a non-monetary relief often push things from small track to fast track for example, having several expert witnesses giving oral evidence can too, or having multiple claimants and defendants will likely put you above fast track  etc. Small Track = couple of hours, Fast Track = less than a day, Intermediary Track = up to 3 days and Multi-track over 3 days. 


Its ultimately the judges decision which track its allocated to, though they are encouraged to put it in the lowest track possible. In principle reducing the claim may persuade a judge to put it in a lower track but if you are still wanting to call a dozen experts it's unlikely to succeed and then you just get less.

Why are you wanting to avoid Fast Track? Sounds like you arent so confident in your case