Nottsdave/Capquest-Court date soon.

[ukaviator]

Hi Nottsdave

 

These directions are made by the court at the allocation stage of litigation and depend on which track the case is allocated to, and the circumstances of the case. The criterion are set out in the Civil Procedures Rules, and usually made at the discretion of a procedural judge following receipt of allocation questionnaires. These directions allow the justice system to assign the most appropriate court resources to the dispute, having regard to the size of the financial claim and other material considerations.

 

Usually, a court will not issue allocations questionnaires until all of the Defences in the litigation are filed. It is these documents, which are filed and served by each party that the court relies on to allocate the case. The time for allocation may be delayed where a stay of proceedings has been ordered, or where the proceedings have been transferred to another court. The court is at liberty to require the parties to attend an allocation hearing if it thinks fit.

 

A court will make standard directions in small claims track cases. In fast track and multi-track cases a court will consider making directions that set out the timetable up to the hearing, which includes disclosure, exchange of witness statements, filing and serving of experts' reports (narrowing the issues for expert evidence), pre-trial checklists and listing the claim for trial.

 

Once a Defence has been filed in proceedings in either the County or the High Court, the next stage is the filing of Allocation Questionnaires. This is a document forwarded by the Court to each side. The Court sets a deadline by which the completed document must be returned to them.

 

The person who started the proceedings, i.e.: the Claimant also has to pay a fee to the Court of £80 when the Allocation Questionnaire is returned. In some straightforward matters the Court will dispense with an Allocation Questionnaire. This usually occurs when it is clear that the claim is for £5,000 or less and should therefore go into the Small Claims Court jurisdiction. The fee however is still payable. The Allocation Questionnaire will ask for information which will give the Judge a clearer idea of the issues between the parties. The Questionnaire asks about the following issues:

 

1. Whether the parties want the Court proceedings to be “stayed” i.e.: put into suspension for a period of one month to see if a settlement can be reached.

 

2. If the final Trial needs to be held at a different location and if so why.

 

3. A clear indication of the amount in dispute.

 

4. Some idea as to the number of witnesses that each party might be calling.

 

5. Confirmation as to whether Expert Evidence and Expert Reports will be needed.

 

6. Which Track the Solicitor believes is most appropriate for the case. Small Claims Track relates to claims of £5,000 or less. The Fast Track relates to claims of between £5,000 and £15,000 and the Multi Track applies to claims of over £15,000. Different procedures apply depending on the Track that is adopted. The Track can also be determined not necessarily by the amount in dispute but whether there are any complicated legal issues.

 

7. An indication as to how long the parties think they will need for the final Trial and if there are any dates they already know need to be avoided.

 

8. The timetable and items that the Solicitors believe will need to be dealt with before the case is ready for final Trial. These are referred to as Directions.

 

9. Some idea as to the legal costs already incurred.

 

10.Any other information, which will be of use to the Court.

 

Each party must file the Allocation Questionnaire with the Court by the date specified. They must also supply a copy of their completed Allocation Questionnaire to the other side. The Judge will then look at the two Allocation Questionnaires and the Court file and will decide what Directions are appropriate and whether or not a Case Management Conference is necessary. The Court will then send out an Order which will set out the timetable the Court requires, the list of things that will have to be done and any date fixed for the Case Management Conference. In most cases the Court will also fix a “window” for the final Trial.

 

 

Edited March 30, 2009 by ukaviator

[ukaviator]

Yes it will probably be allocated by post in your case.