Appealing to upper tribunal - need urgent guidance - please!

[fran1phil]

My prior thread had failed to generate much help in my case, as I think I had tried to give avery full account of my situation (or my son's); that it was just terribly confusing for anybody to read.

 

I am therefore; just requesting any advice /guidance in the process of appealing to the upper tribunal.

 

A very brief account: (bullet points)

 

*My son applied for DLA (claiming again); approx Nov 2011;

*he was turned down flat by DM; so he requested tribunal appeal

*Appeal bundle/paperwork; had been vast in volume (it had all his history/back to age 15?)

*He opted for oral hearing with representative

*appeal proceeded without him, he had not been notified

*the tribunal then wrote to my son, setting aside decision and offering a new hearing?

*again my son opted for oral hearing

*the situation repeated itself and they went ahead with hearing; in his absence (day before notice date?)

*he received decision of them awarding him LRC and no mobility

*he requested statment of reasons - in order to appeal further (decision date 9/09/2012)My

*he wrote requesting this and made numerous telephone calls - chasing it up

*In November 2012 - he received statement of reasons (for original tribunal decision/set aside)

*he telephoned and wrote again - requesting statement of reasons

*Statement of Reasons received via post; dated the 18 December 2012

 

So it has taken over 3 mnonths just to get the statement of resons - in order to start the process of requesting leave to appeal.

 

This whole situation seems to have been flawed with errors, can anybody give me some guidance in preparing letter to upper tribunal and who's attention I should mark it for.

 

Unfortunately, my son's legal representative has withdrawn from the matter, owing to their demise (welfare advice charity); they had written to tribunal several months ago to advise of this; hoping hearing may have been sooner. This situation has also led to my son not having representation now, unless he appoints new representative and will have to start from the beginning.

 

I thought if I could at least prepare and send letter, requesting leave to appeal - it would reduce the need for further horrendous delays being caused.

 

Any help advice or guidance, would be greatly appreciated. Happy New Year to everyone!!!!!!!!!!!

 

NADIA PHILLIPS

[Nystagmite]

Your son will only be able to appeal on a basis of law. He can't appeal because he doesn't like the decision.

[estellyn]

Firstly, why was your son not informed twice of the oral hearing date? Was this because the letter didn't get to him, or was a paper hearing held by mistake in both cases?

 

Secondly he will need a rep to go to upper tribunal - these cases have to be argued on points of law and most won't have the knowledge to rep themselves.

 

Thirdly, what have you highlighted on the statement of reasons that you think is wrong?

[Minibits]

If I understand your post correctly, the error of law is the fact that the FTT went ahead without hearing your son (as they did in the first tribunal).

 

Here's a quote from Disabilityrightsuk .org:

 

"VI. breach of ‘the rules natural justice – This includes failing to follow FTT procedure, for example failing to give parties 14 days’ notice of an oral appeal hearing or failing to inform parties that it intends to take into account a matter not addressed in the appeal papers or during the hearing. It also includes failure to follow the procedural rules for all judicial process, for example bias or not allowing a party to speak."

 

In the first instance, I would use this as your reason for appealing.

[fran1phil]

minibits:

 

Thankyou for your response, very helpful as gives me something to go on! I was wondering if you might be able to point me towards a link that may offer some good examples 'model letters' for my purpose? Ie: requesting leave to appeal / reason for late request etc/

 

I would be extremely grateful if you may be able to help me further and thank you for your help so far.

 

Nadia Phillips

[id6052]

You can find UT1 forms, etc on the Upper Tribunal's website

 

http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/GetForm.do?court_forms_id=2759

http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/GetForm.do?court_forms_id=2758

 

For appeals to the Upper Tribunal, you need to demonstrate that the First tier Tribunal has failed to correctly apply the law.

 

Finding flaws in original decision is based upon giving the Statement of Reasons a detailed examination. I would advise seeking professional advice either from Welfare Rights or a specialist legal adviser.

[fran1phil]

So am I right in thinking, that in order to appeal to the UT you firstly have to request leave to appeal via the FTT??

Do I request leave to appeal to the UT or am I asking to appeal again to the FTT based on erroneous in law stuff?

Any idea how long process takes, from their receiving my request??j

 

Thanks

Nadia

[Minibits]

Hi Nadia,

Sorry I didn't see your previous post. I sincerely wish I could help you more, but I think id6052 is correct, in that you will ultimately need a legal advisor, if you get to the UT.

 

I can say though, that firstly, you are right and you have to ask for leave to appeal to the FTT. If that fails, then you apply to the UT, and I believe id6052 has supplied links to those for you. I am pretty sure they will be included in the decision letter from the FFT, if they refuse leave.

 

All the very best to you, and please ask for any further advice, as you never know who is reading and who may have the information you need.

[estellyn]

So am I right in thinking, that in order to appeal to the UT you firstly have to request leave to appeal via the FTT??

Do I request leave to appeal to the UT or am I asking to appeal again to the FTT based on erroneous in law stuff?

Any idea how long process takes, from their receiving my request??j

 

Thanks

Nadia

 

You request leave to appeal from the FTT first. The you appeal to the UT.

[fran1phil]

Thanks for that information - I am pretty clear on the route my letter 'requesting leave to appeal' takes. But I now need to get down to the matter of writing the letter and getting it sent off asap. In my initial letter to the FTT requesting permission - is it absolutely necessary for me to list & detail every error of law/or procedure I am objecting to: explaining fully all the errors & why etc? Its just that it is fairly full-on and I have still a lot to get through. Would it be inappropriate to list a couple of errors; briefly clarify and explain I will present more errors/details etc in due course ?

I assume the FTT take a while to deal with your request and even if the response is favourable, you still have to go to the UTT for decision to be reached, giving me /representative plenty of time to prepare more.

Please advise - as I dont want to give too much information at this stage unnecessarily, but I am aware of the time passing by quickly!!

Many thanks

Nadia Phillips

[estellyn]

Thanks for that information - I am pretty clear on the route my letter 'requesting leave to appeal' takes. But I now need to get down to the matter of writing the letter and getting it sent off asap. In my initial letter to the FTT requesting permission - is it absolutely necessary for me to list & detail every error of law/or procedure I am objecting to: explaining fully all the errors & why etc? Its just that it is fairly full-on and I have still a lot to get through. Would it be inappropriate to list a couple of errors; briefly clarify and explain I will present more errors/details etc in due course ?

I assume the FTT take a while to deal with your request and even if the response is favourable, you still have to go to the UTT for decision to be reached, giving me /representative plenty of time to prepare more.

Please advise - as I dont want to give too much information at this stage unnecessarily, but I am aware of the time passing by quickly!!

Many thanks

Nadia Phillips

 

when you go to UT, the deciding on leave to appeal is the last input the FTT will have on the matter, so every argument needs to be made in the leave to appeal. There are several things that can happen when you ask leave to appeal, they say yes, they say no, they can set aside the original decision and order a new tribunal.

[fran1phil]

Thanks for that. Are you saying then, I only have to write to the first tier tribunal, giving client details and reference, requesting leave to appeal to the UT as FTT decision was erroneous in law. Without full details re errors etc or I do? Sorry I got a bit confused at that bit. If you could just clarify that for me that would be great.

Thanks again

Nadia Phillips

[estellyn]

Thanks for that. Are you saying then, I only have to write to the first tier tribunal, giving client details and reference, requesting leave to appeal to the UT as FTT decision was erroneous in law. Without full details re errors etc or I do? Sorry I got a bit confused at that bit. If you could just clarify that for me that would be great.

Thanks again

Nadia Phillips

 

You need to write with full details of the errors of law you think have been made.