#19720 - 5. Bpc Civil Litigation 2023 2024 Commencement - BPC Civil Litigation

• Where a specified period is 5 days or less and includes weekends or bank holidays, those days do not count.

• The Court must further the overriding objective by actively managing cases. This includes helping the parties to settle and encouraging the use of ADR.

• Proceedings are started when the court issues a claim form at the request of the claimant.

• A claim form is issued on the date entered on the form by the court.

• 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 must be contained in or served with the claim form or served on the defendant by the claimant within 14 days after the service of the claim form.

• Where the claimant serves particulars of claim on the defendant, the claimant must, within 7 days of service on the defendant, file a copy of the particulars unless a copy has already been filed.

• The claimant need not file a copy of the particulars of claim if the claim is being dealt with at the Production Centre or the Civil National Business Centre and is not transferred to another court.

• High Court:

  • If the value of the claim is more than 100,000.

  • If a personal injuries claim has a value of more than 50,000.

  • AND there is public importance of the claim and the complexity of the facts warrants it.

• The claimant must include in the claim form an address at which the defendant may be served. That address must include a full postcode unless the court orders otherwise.

• The defendant’s solicitors address may be used to serve documents. The solicitor has to notify the claimant in writing of this.

• Where the claimant is unable to serve the claim form at their address or is unable to ascertain their address, they may serve on the defendant’s usual or last known address.

• Can also be served at a place specified in a contract.

• Where there is good reason to authorise service by a method or at a place nor otherwise permitted, the court may make an order to do so. This is to allow flexibility for modern communication methods.

• A party to the proceedings will serve a document which that party has prepared except where a rule or PD provides that the court will serve the document or the court orders otherwise.

• The court will serve a document which it has prepared except where a rule or PD provides that a party must serve it, a party wishes to serve it, the court orders otherwise.

• Where the court is to serve a document, it is for the court to decide which method of service is to be used.

Time Limits

• Where the claim form is to be served out of the jurisdiction it must be served within 6 months of the date of issue.

• Where the claim form is served within the jurisdiction, the claimant must complete the step required by the following table in relation to the particular method of service chosen, before 12.00 midnight on the calendar day four months after the date of issue of the claim form.

• The application has to be made within the period.

• The court may only make such an order where:

  • The court has failed to serve the claim form; or

  • The claimant has taken all reasonable steps to comply with the time limit but has been unable to do so; and

  • In either case, the claimant has acted promptly in making the application.

• The application must be supported by evidence and may be made without notice:

  • The reason for the inability to serve within time is a highly material factor, the better the reason the more likely that an extension will be granted.

  • Discretion must be exercised in accordance with the overriding objective.

• A claimant may use the Part 8 procedure where they seek the court’s decision on a question which is unlikely to involve a substantial dispute of fact. Will automatically be allocated to the multi-track.

  • Essentially claims which just need ‘rubber stamping.’

  • No defence is required.

• The court may at any stage order the claim to continue as if the claimant had not used the Part 8 procedure and, if it does so, may give any directions it considers appropriate.

• Where the claimant uses the Part 8 procedure, they may not obtain default judgment under Part 12.

• The claimant must state in the claim form:

  • That they are using this procedure;

  • The question which the claimant wants the court to decide;

  • The remedy which the claimant is seeking and the legal basis for the claim to that remedy;

  • If the claim is being made under an enactment, what that enactment is;

  • If the claimant is claiming in a representative capacity, what that the capacity is; and

  • If the defendant is sued in a representative capacity, what that capacity is.

• Where the defendant contends that the Part 8 procedure should not be used because there is a substantial dispute of fact and the use of the Part 8 procedure is not required or permitted by a rule or practice direction, he must state his reasons when he files his acknowledgment of service.

• The defendant must:

  • File an...