SGS 2 Civil Ligation

Number 1
Objective of pre-action protocol
Thepreactionprotocolsaredesignedtoforcethepartiestohaveamorecardsonthe
tableapproachtosettlingthedispute.Theemphasisisonencouragingthepartiesto
focusonresolvingthedisputewithoutinvolvingthecourts.Thepreactionprotocols
are designed to achieve this by enabling the parties to obtain information they
reasonably need to settle the matter at the earliest possible opportunity and, if
settlement is not achievable, to lay the foundations for expeditious conduct of
proceedings.
The particulars of claim (CPR 16)
Theparticularsofclaimisthestatementofcasewhichcontainsfulldetailsofthe
claimantsclaim.Therearethreewaysofdealingwiththeparticularsofclaim:
1.itmaybeincludedontheclaimform;
2.itmaybepreparedasaseparatedocumentandservedwiththeclaimform;or
3.itmaybepreparedasaseparatedocumentandservedwithin14daysofdeemed
service1oftheclaimform,solongassuchserviceiseffectedwithinfourmonths
fromthedateofissueoftheclaimform.
Judgment in default (CPR 12)
If the defendant has not filed an acknowledgment of service or filed
a defence and the time for doing so has expired, the claimant may
obtain judgment in default. This is judgment on the claimants claim
without the need to proceed any further with the litigation process.
Part 20 claims (CPR 20)
The defendant may wish to make a counterclaim against the
claimant. It may do this by filing particulars of the counterclaim. This
may be done without the courts permission if it is filed with the
defence (and at any other time with the courts permission).
The claimant must file and serve a defence to the counterclaim
within 14 days of deemed service of the counterclaim, failing which;
the defendant may obtain judgment in default on the counterclaim.
Witnessstatements(CPR32)
Exchange of witness statements is generally the next stage in the action after
disclosureandinspection.Allthedisclosuredocumentsmustbereviewedpriorto
finalisingwitnessstatements,asthewitnessesmayneedtorefertothedocumentsin
theirevidence.Witnessstatementsarethemeansbywhichthefactsofthedisputeare
putbeforethecourt.Therearedetailedprovisionsregardingthecontentofwitness
statements,andthesearesetoutinCPR32

Number 2
Read Chapter 1 Part C paragraph 7 and the following rules contained
in your CPR and other materials part 1 pack: CPR 2.3, CPR 7.5, 7A
PD 2 (i.e. practice direction 7A to CPR 7 at paragraph 2), CPR 16.3
and CPR 30.3.
With reference to the above, in which court (and, if applicable, which
division) would Ritchisons Investments Limited issue its claim? Be
prepared to justify your answer in the SGS using the relevant parts
of the CPR.
It is likely that Ritchisons Investments Limited will issue its claim in
the high court as the amount they wish to claim is over 100,000.
2.4 Subject to paragraphs 2.1 and 2.2 above, a claim should be
started in the High
Court if by reason of:
(1) the financial value of the claim and the amount in dispute,
and/or
(2) the complexity of the facts, legal issues, remedies or procedures
involved, and/or
(3) the importance of the outcome of the claim to the public in
general,
the claimant believes that the claim ought to be dealt with by a High
Court judge.
(CPR Part 30 and Practice Direction 30 contain provisions relating to
the transfer to the County Court of proceedings started in the High
Court and vice-versa.)
Number 3
Assume that you work for Price Prior, acting on behalf of
Ritchisons Investments Limited. You are serving the claim form
in this matter on a solicitor who is instructed to accept service on
behalf of all of the defendants.
In practice, you will need to ensure that you always know what
the correct fee is. Calculate the court fee payable for issuing this
claim. You will find the Justice website helpful for this
(www.justice.gov.uk/about/hmcts), or you can find the information in
Volume 2 of the White Book (available in the library or online via
Westlaw).
On the Justice website (above), locate and familiarize yourself
with the appropriate claim form which you would use to issue this
claim. You should read the accompanying notes on completing the
claim form, but you do not need to print out the claim form
Number 4
16 PD 3

Statement of value to be included in the claim form

16.3
(1) This rule applies where the claimant is making a claim for money.
(2) The claimant must, in the claim form, state
(a) the amount of money claimed;
(b) that the claimant expects to recover
(i) not more than 10,000;
(ii) more than 10,000 but not more than 25,000; or
(iii) more than 25,000; or
(c) that the claimant cannot say how much is likely to be recovered.
(3) In a claim for personal injuries, the claimant must also state in the claim
form whether the amount which the claimant expects to recover as general
damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity is
(a) not more than 1,000; or
(b) more than 1,000.
(4) In a claim which includes a claim by a tenant of residential premises
against a landlord where the tenant is seeking an order requiring the landlord
to carry out repairs or other work to the premises, the claimant must also state
in the claim form
(a) whether the estimated costs of those repairs or other work is
(i) not more than 1,000; or
(ii) more than 1,000; and
(b) whether the value of any other claim for damages is
(i) not more than 1,000; or
(ii) more than 1,000.
(5) If the claim form is to be issued in the High Court it must, where this rule
applies
(a) state that the claimant expects to recover more than 100,000;
(b) state that some other enactment provides that the claim may be
commenced only in the High Court and specify that enactment;
(c) if the claim is a claim for personal injuries state that the claimant expects to
recover 50,000 or more; or
(d) state that the claim is to be in one of the specialist High Court lists and
state which list.
(6) When calculating how much the claimant expects to recover, the claimant
must disregard any possibility
(a) that the court may make an award of
(i) interest;
(ii) costs;
(b) that the court may make a finding of contributory negligence;
(c) that the defendant may make a counterclaim or that the defence may
include a set-off; or
(d) that the defendant may be liable to pay an amount of money which the
court awards to the claimant to the Secretary of State for Social Security
under section 6 of the Social Security (Recovery of Benefits) Act 1997 1.
(7) The statement of value in the claim form does not limit the power of the
court to give judgment for the amount which it finds the claimant is entitled to.

Right to use one claim form to start two or more claims 7.3 A
claimant may use a single claim form to start all claims which can
be conveniently disposed of in the same proceedings.
Particulars of claim
7.4
(1) Particulars of claim must
(a) be contained in or served with the claim form; or
(b) subject to paragraph (2) be served on the defendant by the
claimant within 14 days after service of the claim form.
(2) Particulars of claim must be served on the defendant no later
than the latest time for serving a claim form.
(Rule 7.5 sets out the latest time for serving a claim form)
(3) Where the claimant serves particulars of claim separately from
the claim form in accordance with paragraph (1)(b), the claimant
must, within 7 days of service on the defendant, file a copy of the
particulars except where
(a) paragraph 5.2(4) of Practice Direction 7C applies; or
(b) paragraph 6.4 of Practice Direction 7E applies.
(Part 16 sets out what the particulars of claim must include)
(Part 22 requires particulars of claim to be verified by a statement of
truth)
(2) If the claimant is seeking interest he must
(a) state whether he is doing so
(i) under the terms of a contract;
(ii) under an enactment and if so which; or
(iii) on some other basis and if so what that basis is; and
(b) if the claim is for a specified amount of money, state
(i) the percentage rate at which interest is claimed;
(ii) the date from which it is claimed;
(iii) the date to which it is calculated, which must not be later than
the date on which the claim form is issued;
(iv) the total amount of interest claimed to the date of calculation;
and
(v) the daily rate at which interest accrues after that date.
(Part 22 requires particulars of claim to be verified by a statement of
truth)

7.3 Where a claim is based upon a written agreement:

(1) a copy of the contract or documents constituting the agreement should be
attached to or served with the particulars of claim and the original(s) should
be available at the hearing, and

(2) any general conditions of sale incorporated in the contract should also be
attached (but where the contract is or the documents constituting the
agreement are bulky this practice direction is complied with by attaching or
serving only the relevant parts of the contract or documents).
7.4 Where a claim is based upon an oral agreement, the particulars of claim
should set out the contractual words used and state by whom, to whom, when
and where they were spoken.
Chapter 3, Para 2 and 3
The particulars of claim (CPR 16.4)
The particulars of claim sets out the claimants case in detail, as
opposed to the brief statement on the front of the claim form, which
simply sets out the nature of the claim and the remedy, sought.
As we saw in Chapter 2, the particulars of claim can be served on
the defendant in three ways:
1. contained on the claim form itself;
2. served with the claim form as a separate document; or
3. served up to 14 days after the claim form is served (provided
such service is effected within the period of validity of the claim
form).
2.1 Format
If a particulars of claim is served separately from the claim form, it
must contain the following formal parts:
1. the heading (see paragraph 1.2 above);
2. the claimants address for service; and
3. a statement of truth (CPR 22).
The heading is at the top of the document. There is also a standard
first paragraph of the particulars of claim which immediately follows
the heading.
The claimants address for service and statement of truth are at the
bottom of the document. The other rules set out in paragraph 1.2
above also apply to the particulars of claim.
2.2 Content
Facts and factual elements of cause of action
The particulars of claim must include a concise statement of the
facts on which the claimant relies (CPR 16.4(1)(a)) and must cover
the essential elements of the claimants cause of action.
The particulars of claim must therefore set out all the material facts
and allegations which, if proved by evidence, would entitle the
claimant to the remedy it seeks as a matter of law. In addition, the
particulars of claim should set out any facts that tell the story and
assist the reader in understanding the case, i.e. background facts.

3. Drafting the particulars of claim

You can understand the format and content of a particulars of claim
most effectively by seeing it set out in practice.
3.1 Format
Format in this context means compliance with the CPR. It is not
about matters of style, but about ensuring that the particulars of
claim meets the requirements set out in the rules. It can be neatly
summed up as being those matters which you should put at the
beginning and the end of the particulars of claim (see paragraph 2.1
above). In this chapter, we have added explanatory footnotes to the
statements of case. The footnotes do not form part of the document
itself. You should not use footnotes in statements of case or other
court documents.