Letter Before Action

JoJo445

Hello, I am currently in a Will dispute (defending the Will) and I have received a letter before action from the claimant (family member). In this letter the claimant has written a short summary of the dispute and has threatened to commence court proceedings without further notice if I don't agree to his demands but he hasn't provided a detailed summary of his claim.

He did send me a full letter of claim 4 years ago (which I responded to with a substantive letter of response at the time) but a lot of time has passed (and correspondence) so I have asked him to provide an updated letter of claim along with a breakdown of costs (as he also mentioned in his letter before action that he seeks recovery of costs). However, he has not provided an updated letter of claim/costs. His response to my request was that I will be served with a full set of notes and all relevant information pertaining to the case when an application is made to the court. Surely I have a right to see this BEFORE this goes to court?!!

I do not have legal counsel but from my understanding of the pre-action conduct and protocols, both parties should be exchanging information and understanding each other’s position in order to try and avoid costly litigation.
My question is whether I have a right to ask/demand for an updated letter of claim/breakdown of costs at this stage?

Thank you in advance for any help/advice.

fatbelly

The court would expect both parties to negotiate before resorting to court action.

It's called the Overriding Objective

https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part01

MyRealNameToo

You have the right to ask but ultimately can't force them to do so.

If it does end up in litigation it's worth pointing out any breaches of the CPR to the judge. Whilst it won't change who wins the case it can impact on cost awards. Have had more than one case where the judge has refused to award costs to the claimant for not following the CPR and in extreme cases judges have been known to award costs against the claimant despite them winning their case. On the basis of you saying there has been years of letters etc the later would be highly unlikely in my non-professional opinion. 

DancingBadger

Is the claimant contesting the contents of a will?

JoJo445

Thanks "fatbelly" and "MyRealNameToo".

I was surprised that there was no settlement offer (as both parties have sent each other a number of offers in the past) or mention of ADR in the Letter Before Action.

I was considering these options in my response to show good faith and to demonstrate to the court that I tried to settle before court.

JoJo445

Hello DancingBadger,

He wants to invalidate the last Will and probate the previous Will (he stands to receive more in that one).

born_again

Given the mention of letter before action. Which usually relates to money claim online.
Can you contest a will via that court system?
A quick google seems to say no. It is a specialist area & not cheap. 

JoJo445

Thanks for your comments "born_again". The letter states:

LETTER BEFORE ACTION – Proposed Court Proceedings concerning the validity of the ........ Will

MyRealNameToo

born_again said:

Given the mention of letter before action. Which usually relates to money claim online.
Can you contest a will via that court system?
A quick google seems to say no. It is a specialist area & not cheap. 

Letter before action/ letter of claim is part of the Civil Procedural Rules which applies to most civil (ie not criminal) litigation. 

MCOL is only for fixed money claims, contesting a will cannot be done via MCOL but it is still a claim covered by the CPR. 

DancingBadger

JoJo445 said:

Hello DancingBadger,

He wants to invalidate the last Will and probate the previous Will (he stands to receive more in that one).

So his claim pertains to a will which pre-dates the one that has been through probate and the assets distributed?  I really wouldn't lose any sleep over his threats.

JoJo445

There is a permanent caveat on the estate and probate has not been granted.