Court Procedures for Negligence Cases

Alternative Dispute Resolution Vast majority of cases are settled and don’t go to court – using the courts can be costly, time-consuming and traumatic Of those that do go to court, most are settled before coming to trial People are encouraged to use other forms of civil dispute resolution If one of the parties unreasonably refuses to consider this option, court has the power to disallow legal costs – Dunnett v Railtrack Types of Alternative Dispute Resolution: Negotiation – parties try and reach an agreement together Mediation – a go-between will help the parties reach agreement Conciliation – a go-between will offer advice or a solution, which the parties can accept of reject

Pre-Action Protocols C issues a letter to D explaining brief details of how the claim arises – why it is claimed that D is at fault, details of injury and other damage, any other relevant information D is given 3 months to investigate the claim and must then reply, setting out if liability is admitted or if it is denied, the reasons for the denial If expert evidence is going to be needed, the parties should try to agree to use one expert Disclosure of Documents - Parties encouraged to give information to each other, to prevent the need for so many court cases to be started Following the protocol should lead to many claims being settled If the parties don’t follow the procedure and give the required information to the other party, they may be liable for costs if they make a court claim

Procedure of a Negligence Case Up Until Trial Claimant issues a claim form - http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/courtfinder/forms/n001-eng.pdf Claimant pays a court fee (which increases with the size of the claim) When claim form is served on D they have the following options: Admit the claim and pay the full amount – case ends Defend the claim – they must serve a defence to the court If D does nothing after 14 days C can apply for a default judgement – D will have to pay the full amount D can lodge a counter-claim on C If D is defending the claim, the court will allocate the case to the most suitable track – both parties sent an allocation questionnaire to help the court decide on the track

The Three-Track Case Management System Civil Procedure Act 1997 specifies the three tracks the case will be allocated to: Small Claims Track Fast Track Multi-Track

The Three Tracks Multi Track Small Claims Fast Track *Up to £10,000 *Personal injury up to £1,000 *Simple cases *Usually heard by a District Judge *Flexible, informal procedure – usually heard in private *No order for costs – to encourage people to represent themselves *Will always be in County Court Fast Track *£10,000-£25,000 *Personal injury over £1,000 *Moderately complex cases *Preliminary hearing to lay down a timetable. Cases put on strict timetable and must be heard in 30 weeks *Trials last up to one day *Usually heard by a Circuit Judge in an open court – more formal than Small Claims track Multi Track *Over £25,000 *Complex cases below £25,000 *Any claim which is not within the scope of the small claims or fast track *Almost always heard by a Circuit Judge *Case Management Hearing – judge will impose a timetable for procedural issues to be resolved) *May be in County Court or High Court (if claim above £100,000 or £50,000 if personal injury)

Which Court? Claims up to £100,000 for damage to property or up to £50,000 for personal injury - County Court Claims over £100,000 for damage to property or over £50,000 for personal injury – C can choose whether to start the case in County Court or High Court

Case Management Civil Procedure Rules – judges expected to manage a case by: Identifying issues at an early stage Deciding which issues need investigation at trial Encouraging parties to use ADR Dealing with procedural steps without parties needing to attend court Giving directions to ensure trial of case proceeds quickly and efficiently Fixing timetables by which different stages of the case must be completed

Civil Courts Majority of cases are heard in the County Court High Court (Queen’s Bench Division) County Court Initial Hearing: Court of Appeal (Civil Division) First Appeal: Supreme Court Final Appeal: Majority of cases are heard in the County Court Largest claims in the High Court (Queen’s Bench Division)

Appeals Either side (C or D) can appeal against the judge’s decision based on supposed errors of fact or law Appeals do not take the form of a complete rehearing – only consider the documentary evidence in the case and the judge’s notes of witness evidence Appeals unlikely to be successful Appeal court has 3 options: Affirm the original judge’s decision (result is totally unchanged) Vary the original decision (usually be changing the amount of damages awarded) Reverse the judgement (by finding in favour of the other party)

Possible Questions – (11 or 12) Outline the 3-track case management system used in civil courts and briefly explain which track and which court would be used if x made a claim against y (5) Outline the procedure which would be followed before a trial took place (5)