Hi guys

I am owed a considerable amout by a private individual to the tune of approx 13k.

Issue is, they are living in australia, but have considerable assets in england by way of two properties.

If i took a small claim out against them and lost, is there any way i can be held accountable for their costs, i am just after a decision and will then look at enforcing the order later on, i know that wouldnt be easy but its the court aspect i am looking at first.

A claim over £10,000 won't be allocated to the small claims track.

If you want the costs protection of the small claims track,

a) ensure your behaviour is at all times "reasonable" and compliant with the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), and

b) keep your claim below 10k.

Thread moved to the correct forum...please continue to post here to your thread.

Regards

Andy

If you brought a £13k claim and lost, you would be ordered to pay the Defendant's legal fees.

What is the basis of your claim? You can only bring a claim against someone based in Australia if you have a particular basis for saying that the English courts have jurisdiction.

The person in australia is operating a business here, ie two rental properties, so that will allow for persueing him hete iiac

Can only take him to.court if he's resident in England or Wales. Unless you want to deal with the expenses and legalities of chasing him over there

The person in australia is operating a business here, ie two rental properties, so that will allow for persueing him hete iiac

No, that will allow you to enforce a judgment if you get one.

It doesn't give the court jurisdiction to grant a judgment in the first place.

For the court to have jurisdiction, you need a basis for suing him in England & Wales. For example on the basis of a contract which was performed in England & Wales or a contract with an English jurisdiction clause. To get input on this you need to explain what your claim is about.

Can only take him to.court if he's resident in England or Wales. Unless you want to deal with the expenses and legalities of chasing him over there

You can issue proceedings in England and Wales - it is perfectly possible to serve documents on a Defendant living overseas. In this situation people often have difficulty enforcing a judgment even if they win, but in this case the Op could get a charging order against one of the rental properties.

The risk is that if the Op issues a claim which is not something the English court has jurisdiction over, and the defendant instructs solicitors who get it thrown out, the Op will be ordered to pay the defendant's legal costs.

Let me clarify, the guy was our landlord, he let the property fall into disrepair, i dont want to get into the nitty gritty but we have grounds to sue him for that disrepair amongst other things.

So the contract was in england, not international, he has an.address where we can serve legal papers on him over here in the uk also via his own address in australia too.

He has a representative here for his rentals as required by uk law.

We have a solicitor on the case but he cant secure an indemnity policy on the case as of yet. Thats why we are looking at sueing him our selves.

I understand getting the courts decision in our favour is only 1/3 the battle, enforcing it is the rest, we can get the same company that is on tv cant pay program to enforce down under or we can place charge on his property, therebare several options should the decision go our way.

But how do i avoid being.landed with his bill is my concern

Take a look at CPR PD 6B in relation to service of Court documents outside of the jurisdiction.