When resolving legal disputes, involving the court is considered a last resort. There are, however, cases where pre-action correspondence fails to provide a solution and there is no other option. Issuing court proceedings is a way of forcing a conclusion to a dispute and having a solicitor by your side from day one can help you secure the best outcome for you or your business.
How do I begin court proceedings?
To start proceedings, a claim form and details of the claim known as particulars of claim must be sent to court. The claim form contains a brief overview of the parties and the claim and the solution being sought, usually financial compensation. The particulars provide a more detailed account of the facts giving rise to the claim.
The court stamp the documents with an official seal and allocate a unique claim number to it. The documents are then sent to the defendant either by the court or the claimant.
Once the documents have been sent (and there are rules about how this done), the defendant has 14 days to acknowledge receipt of those documents and another 14 days to prepare a defence to the claim which must be sent to the claimant and the court.
Points to consider
Limitation Periods
The type of claim you are making will have a period of time in which a claim must be made otherwise you are out of time and prevented from being a claim, known as the limitation period. For example, a breach of contract claim has a 6 year limitation period, meaning that a claim can only be made within 6 years of the loss being suffered. Nothing can be claimed for after that period.
Court fees and lawyers’ fees
The court fee varies depending on the type and value of the claim. The lowest cost is £35 (for claims valued up to £300) and the highest being £10,000 (for claims over the value of £200,000).
If you instruct lawyers (solicitors and barristers), they will charge fees by reference to hourly rates. As you would expect, the more complicated the claim, the higher those fees will be.
Alternative funding options
In some cases, different funding options may be available such as fixed fees for initial investigative work or arrangements which may involve your solicitor or third parties sharing the fees risk with you as well as legal costs insurance policies. Your solicitor will consider these with you and their suitability and availability.
What alternatives are available?
Parties are encouraged to consider alternative dispute resolution (ADR) instead of going to court. ADR is a process of settling disputes without going to court, and comes in two main forms although there are others:
Mediation: All involved parties talk through the dispute to reach a mutually agreeable outcome with the help of a neutral, qualified third party, a mediator. This saves the matter from going to court and will be legally binding once all relevant parties sign the settlement agreement.
Arbitration: An independent, qualified third party makes a legally binding decision after hearing the facts of the case. Evidence can be given in writing or by speaking individually with the arbitrator. The arbitrator is not a Judge but is usually qualified in the relevant technical area such as engineering
A solicitor will assess whether ADR is suitable based on the facts and circumstances and advise you accordingly. Of course both parties have to agree to go to ADR before this commences.
Contact us
If you are involved in a dispute and would like to speak to one of our solicitors regarding either court proceedings or alternative dispute resolution options, contact us on 0161 969 3131 or get in touch using our contact form.