The Court
Most Courts are limited in the types of Claims that they are able to deal with. For instance, some Courts do not deal with bankruptcy cases.
A case is usually dealt with at the Defendants home Court.
The Court will send an Directions questionnaire, the parties must complete the form and return it to the Court within the prescribed time period.
The Tracks.
The Civil Court has 3 tracks, these are:-
The Small claims track.
The Fast track
The Multi track.
The differences between the track usually revolve upon the value of the claim.
CPR 26 provides guidance on the track allocation
Small Claims track.
The small claims track dealing with cases of not more than £10,000 (or personal injuries of not more than £1,000).
Key aspects of the small claims track.
CPR 27 sets out the rules associated with this track
Solicitors costs generally cannot be claimed.
The use of experts is rare.
Usually witness statements are exchanged 14 days prior to the final hearing along with any evidence.
The length of the hearing should not be more than half a day.
Useful websites
Small Claims guide
The Fast track.
Value of the Claim is up to about £25,000.
The length of a hearing being 1 day (or 5 hours)
CPR 28 sets out the rules associated with this track
The Multi Track
This is for claims over £25,000
The hearing length being more than 1 day.
There are also differences between the Fast and Multi track as to how Solicitors costs are dealt with.
This includes useful information about the Judicial process