Clarkson Hirst Solicitors Lancaster, Kendal, Barrow

County Court Claims

This page is to provide you with general information and not intended to provide you with legal advice. You should contact one of our qualified Solicitors for legal advice in relation to your matter.

The County Court is divided into three tracks.

The Small Claims Track

The Small Claims Track is where you can pursue a claim for an amount not exceeding £5000. The usual rule is that each party will pay their own legal costs in relation to a claim in the Small Claims Track

The Fast Track

The Fast Track  is where you bring a claim where the value is between £5000 and £25000 (with effect from the 6th April 2009).

The objective is to have the case tried within 30 months of commencement and the Hearing will last not more than one day. Costs are recoverable from your opponent if you are successful in your case but if you are unsuccessful you have to pay your opponents reasonable costs.

Any costs awarded subject to the Court assessing their  reasonableness, so you may not be able to recover all your costs of your case if your claim is successful. The amount of costs recoverable for the Trial are subject to limits.

The Multi Track

The Multi Track cases where the value of the claim is in excess of £25000 or the Trial is expected to last over a day are allocated to what is called the Multi Track. These cases are managed by a District Judge to a procedure called Case Management.  

The Basic Steps of the County Court Procedure are:

·        Complete a claim form

     The Claimant completes a claim form with Particulars of Claim stating who they are, who the claim is against and why they are bringing the claim. Sufficient particulars need to be provided to enable the Court and the Opponent to understand the nature of the claim and the amount that is being claimed.

·      The Defence

     If the claim is opposed then the other party will complete a defence which is a written document that states why they do not accept they are liable to pay the claim. Again, sufficient particulars need provided to enable the Court and the Claimant to understand why the case is contested.

·        Allocation

     In a case that is defended, the Court will allocate the case to a Track and set out a list of jobs that have to be completed by the parties before the case can be tried.

·       Disclosure and exchange of evidence.

     The Judge will normally order the parties to disclose documents relevant to the case and exchange statements of evidence and expert reports if expert evidence is required in the case.

·      The Trial

     The Trial will usually takes place before a single Judge who will have received a bundle of documents and a case summary. The Judge will hear the evidence of both parties and read the statements and documents. The Judge will hear submissions on the Law and procedure and make a decision on whether the case succeeds or fails. In the Fast Track and Multi Track the usual rule is that the loser will pay the reasonable legal fees of the winner, but this can be subject to exception where the Judge thinks a party has acted unreasonably. He can order that party to pay some or all of the costs even if that party won the case.

·      Judgement

    A Judgement is where the Court has ordered one party to pay the other party in money or deliver property.

·      Enforcement

    Often it can be easy to obtain a Judgement but much harder to turn that Judgement into cash. It is vitally important that the correct enforcement procedure is used otherwise you may fail to recover the amount due from the debtor. The Court has wide enforcement powers including charging land and bank accounts, attaching earnings and recovering goods through bailiffs. A Judgement can also lead to the creditor petitioning the debtor for their bankrupty. Statutory Demand Procedure

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