Small Claims

All claims for less than £5,000 (or £1000 if the claim is for personal injury) will usually be assigned by the court to be dealt with under the Small Claims procedure. A claim for a higher amount can also be dealt with under the Small Claims procedure if both the parties and the court agree.

The idea behind a Small Claim is that it will be heard by a District Judge in his private rooms with the parties presenting their case in person. The Small Claims procedure is similar to an informal arbitration and there is a minimum of formality. Procedural rules are kept to a minimum. The whole point is for people without legal experience to be able to bring or defend claims under the Small Claims Procedure themselves without the expense of employing a lawyer. For that reason legal costs are not generally awarded and all the losing party will have to pay will be the court fee and any expense incurred by the winning party.

The Particulars (or Statement) of Claim should set out the legal basis of your claim and include the full amount you are entitled to claim. Properly prepared Particulars of Claim will give credibility to your case and show you know what you are at.

Before issuing a Small claim, all possibilities of settlement should be explored. A formal 'letter before action' advising of the intention to issue court proceedings should always be sent to an intended defendant, who should be allowed a reasonable time to comply with the request for payment.
If this is ignored proceedings can then be issued in any County Court. The Defendant must then either enter a Defence within 14 days of service or give notice of an intention to defend. If this is not done the Claimant may apply for judgment to be entered.

The court will manage the running of the case and serve all papers. If a defence is filed the case is likely to be transferred for hearing to the Defendant's 'home' Court. That Court will then send an 'allocation questionnaire' to the parties asking about witnesses, evidence and how they want the matter to be decided. A district judge will look at the claim and defence and will issue directions and usually fix a date for the Hearing.

The Directions will usually follow a standard form and require the parties to exchange copies of any documents to be relied upon before the Hearing and bring the originals to Court. If it is intended to call expert evidence the leave of the Court must first be obtained.

The Hearing will be informal and conducted by a District Judge in his private rooms. Evidence will not usually be required to be given on oath and everybody remains seated around a table. The Judge will usually make an award immediately after the Hearing and explain the reasons. Payment to the winning party will usually be ordered to be paid within 14 days.

Legal-Zone can help in a number of ways with a Small Claim. We have our precedents for a number of common small claims which you can download and follow. If your small claim needs to be specially prepared we can prepare it on your behalf and give any advice needed

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