I need help to Serve a writ to recover a loan

[burmafriday]

Hi Andy - thanks for moving the thread to General Legal issues - it seemed to have done the trick. As I received some comments.

Hi Alloyz1 - yes I too feel the same even though I was undecided about that

Hi Johninyork - i have not mentioned anything about criminal intent. What circumstances should there be for there to be criminal intent?

Hi Renegadeimp and Johninyork….regarding SB pl see thread#15 posted by Steampowered.

 

I have no legal representation but he has a solicitor working for him. His defense is simply that there was no loan and I am to prove my claim.

 

I understood from my research that Judges do take note and consider if a Claimant’s claim has merit irrespective of simple denial from the Defendant. I can prove my claim as I hv proof of all payments and loan but I wondered if there were cases similar to mine which I could refer to as this would help me greatly.

 

By the way, if i can prove that he lied in his defense would that be deemed to be criminal intent to defraud?

 

Thank you very much

BF

[steampowered]

Civil cases are decided on a balance of probabilities. The judge will decide whether it is more likely than not that this person owes you money. The burden of proof will be on you to convince the judge that this is the case, based on the evidence you produce.

 

I'm not sure there is anything be gained by citing law here. The dispute seems to be about a factual issue (whether you lent money) rather than any technical legal issue. SB is more of a legal issue, but I am reluctant to comment further without knowing what was said about this in the Defence.

 

Lying in a formal document verified by a statement of truth (e.g. a Defence) is treated as criminal contempt of court. In reality, it is very unlikely anyone will be too bothered. The best way to punish unreasonable conduct such as lying in a statement of case is through asking for legal costs on the basis of unreasonable conduct (in small claims) or costs on an indemnity basis (in fast track/multi track).

[Riz0]

Steampowered's (?) explanation of limitation periods is the correct one.

 

The six year time limit, at least in England & Wales, commences from the time the payment became due. That is when the breach of contract takes place and the clock starts.

 

Just to give us all further information to be able to help - what is the approximate value that you have issued a claim for? I recall an earlier post saying £10k+. So I am guessing you are on the fast track or multi-track (if above £25k).

 

If so, you can if you wish, serve a "Reply to Defence" with your directions questionnaire. In it, you can challenge his denial and produce further evidence of your payments in respect of his self-employed work. Once you do this, you can comfortably opt for mediation and/or some other form of ADR (Alternative Dispute Resolution).

 

Along with your reply to defence, directions questionnaire, enclose draft directions. Look for standard fast track directions on the internet, please post here if you can't find any and I will try to put you in the right direction. If you do this part properly - even if he is assisted by solicitors (behind the scenes), it will put them on the back foot.

 

Due to your disability (apologies if I am mistaken), in the DQ - ask for the trial to take place at your local county court. Otherwise, it will normally go to the Defendant's home court.

 

After this - write to him/his solicitor and put forward an offer of ADR. Mediation can cost more as it involves an independent "expert" in dispute resolution. The costs should be shared i.e. if the mediation is due to take 2 hours and the costs are £500, you should both agree to pay £250 each. He will try to get the parties to arrange a cost effective solution. Given that neither of you appear to be formally represented, the usual commercial drivers for settlement (i.e. costs) are not there. Instead, you will have to take a view on merits/risk of your claim and the amount of time that it will take for you to obtain judgment.

 

Any agreement reached through ADR is binding - but ensure this is properly evidenced in writing etc.

 

You need to think ahead - after the DQ, the court will make a standard order usually asking for ADR, disclosure, witness statements and so on, before the trial date.

 

Have you do any checks on your friend? Do you know whether he owns his own house for example (a land registry search for the official copies will cost less than £5).

 

Sorry if this post is all over the place. I just wanted to bounce around some ideas for you. Maybe others will come in with some input.

 

Your friend doesn't sound very pleasant. Good luck!

 

Sorry, one more final tip.

 

If you do a "Reply to Defence", ensure it complies with CPR 16 (Civil Procedure Rules). You can probably find a word template on the internet or on CAG possibly?

 

Make your points in numbered paragraphs. Make them short, sharp to the point. Your friend and his solicitor may start to think twice about early settlement.

[JOHNINYORK]

Burmafriday.

I think that Steampowered has summed it up for you regarding the legalities.

In my own opinion.As you have stated in previous posts,that you have documentation to prove that you gave the money.But did the recipient of the money have the intention of defrauding you from day one.Or did they have every intention of repaying you,but as time progressed,conjure up lies to defraud you.Maybe the word steal would be more appropriate. There is a big question mark over this.

Regarding post 15.With due respect to our learned friends (Steampowered) reply.The reply that Renegadiemp gave was short and sweet and in lay mans terms.

 

Regards,John.

[burmafriday]

Hi All,

Thank you so much for your comments and contributions. Apologies for my delay in reply but i have been going through the comments and see if i can follow the advice.

 

Hi Steampowered,

I understand and appreciate your comments re. balance of probabilities.

I also accept that the onus is on me to convince the judge. His defense was really simple. This is what he said.

1. He claimed to have worked for me and claimed that any payments I made to his credit cards were part of his salary. ....(who pays wages to credit cards?)

2. he denied borrowing any money and said i should prove my claim. .... Thats it. There was no mention of SB.

 

On what basis can I ask him to indemnify my legal costs when I am representing myself?

 

Hi Johninyork, thanks for yr comments - of course he made promises of repayment and expressed his gratitude but in actual fact he never made any repayments.

 

Hi Riz0

Thank you for your contribution. To answer your question, I am on fast track. I have gone through your comments. I am preparing my reply to defense and working through the form but I may need help with N181. I will definitely need your step by step guidance.

 

Draft Directions - I am not clear on this. Can you advise me further.

 

Regarding ADR - Please explain further .. what forms are there and how would I apply for them? It seems from your comments that i apply for this during the mediation.

 

Thank you again,very much.

BF

Edited September 10, 2013 by burmafriday
i did not think my original post was clear and made sense.

[JOHNINYORK]

Burmafriday.

Ok.You will just have to persevere with it.

 

Regards,John.

[burmafriday]

Hi John,

God yes... I am.

Thanks for your support. In fact, I am grateful to everyone. All the comments and contributions really help maintain my sanity.

BF

[JOHNINYORK]

B/F.

I shall be following this thread with great interest.As I am more or less in the same boat as yourself,except that my amount is roughly 26K.I will more than happy just to get that back,never mind the interest,but of course that would be nice.

 

Regards,John.

Edited September 10, 2013 by JOHNINYORK

[Riz0]

Hi burmafriday

 

1. Reply to defence:

 

I have found this link to use as the template: http://www.documentdirect.co.uk/img/blank-particulars-of-claim.doc

 

Quick guide: replace where it says "Particulars of Claim" with "Reply to Defence" in the middle. Insert the Claim No in the top right and the name of the county court in the top left. I presume it is still in Northampton at the moment? Enter the names of the parties in the two gaps for the heading. You are the claimant so your name goes first. He is the Defendant and his name goes second. There are titles next to each name.

 

After that, make your point in numbered paragraphs. If he has numbered his paragraphs, start with a paragraph along the lines of:

 

"References to Paragraphs in this Reply to Defence are references to the Defence unless otherwise stated or where context determines otherwise."

 

Then respond on a point by point basis to each of the assertions made by the Defendant. If they are not in coherent/separate paragraphs, then just address each point. Do not go into unnecessary details (I admit that is difficult to quantify).

 

With regards to each of his points, you can either:

 

a) admit

b) deny

c) put to strict proof

d) state it is outside of your knowledge

 

Refer to yourself in the third person i.e. "The Claimant". Where you deny an allegation, put across your version. Use short sentences, that are to the point and make sure you do not waffle.

 

On the whole, keep it short and sweet. When making a point that you have supporting documents, use a similar sentence to the following: "This is supported by the bank statement exhibited hereto at Annex A." Here you would have "Annex A" in bold, continue like this Annex B, C, D etc. Don't exhibit anything that isn't necessary. You are on the fast track and will have to deal with disclosure in due course unless you reach settlement.

 

I'm not sure what the exact rules are here- but maybe somebody can glance over your reply to defence before you submit. I understand you wouldn't want to post it on the public forum - but I'm not sure what the rules are on doing this sort of thing by PM.

 

Generally speaking you need to respond to any new facts alleged by the defendant and anything that you have been put to strict proof on. There doesn't appear to be any counter-claim so strictly, a Reply isn't even necessary. This will however help you tactically I think.

 

2. Form N181

 

Basic guidance below - you can find more guidance on the court website. I'm not sure what the form is called but there is a "Guidance to N181" form/doc as well. Please look for it, you may find some extra tips.

 

Fill in the top right of the form, enter your name in the "completed by" box and cross of any of the irrelevant parties below. You are the "1st Claimant".

 

Q1/Q2 - tick yes for both. This is so proceedings are suspended for one month and you can then attempt settlement (see below). Unless you think there is any reason not to? Despite the distance between your respective positions, the courts will frown upon the lack of a stay for settlement. You are on the fast track so costs sanctions are possible. You want to avoid this at all costs and show the court that you are a courteous and reasonable litigant

 

Q3 - if you tick yes - this is n/a

 

B1 - ignore. B2. Tick Yes. Then provide your local court and explain why you want it there i.e. disability, lack of transport etc.

 

C. Did you comply with the PDPAC? If you are thinking "what the f is that" then the answer is probably no. If you did, tick yes. If not, provide a brief explanation. Being honest is probably the best way to go i.e. "I have only become aware of the PDPAC after further research and advice, however, I did send a letter setting out my claim on X date to the Defendant."

 

D1. No from the sounds of it? You have not made any applications so far.

 

D2. Leave blank. Your claim is more than £10k, less than £25k and you are happy for this to go on the fast track from the sounds of it?

 

D3. Ignore - multi-track/edisclosure only.

 

D4. There are now different types of disclosure available. Your case will require nothing more than "Standard disclosure".

 

E. Tick "no" for experts and don't answer anything else.

 

F. Witnesses - this is very important.

 

Do not provide names - I can't spell this out enough. It depends on the case to be honest, so I may be stressing it out for no reason. But providing names isn't necessary so why bother?

 

However - fill in the second column and state what is going to be witnessed by each witness. Put something like "witness to agreement", "witness to payment request" or whatever, as applicable.

 

In the name column just put "TBA".

 

G. Hearing time - I can't advise you on this but if the facts are complex and you both have more than 1 witness each, go for one day? Chances are it is going to be a lot less but you are better to over estimate than under estimating, without going over the top of course.

 

H. Blank

 

I. Fees - you as the claimant need to pay your fees. Check for the appropriate fee and pay this with the Directions Questionnaire. The appropriate fee depends on the value of your claim.

 

J. Interim applications - probably not. If you want to play mind games with the other side, state that you intend to apply to strike out and/or summary judgment. You don't have to follow through. From the sounds of it, I think you have enough to apply for summary judgment. But I would definitely advise against doing that on your own!

 

You don't need to provide further information and I can't think of anything that may be relevant from you have provided above.

 

K. Draft directions.

 

You are required to attempt to agree them with the other side - whether you have contact details or not and a sufficient time frame is another question. If you have considered it and tried to get in touch, that may be enough.

 

The purpose of these is to agree a timetable where possible (or set one if not) for the preparation of the final hearing. There are certain procedures that need to be followed and a directions order is passed to ensure both parties comply with these procedures within the stipulated time frame. This ensures that cases are moving quickly. Non-compliance can lead to your claim/defence being struck out, so it is very important.

 

In any case, I can't find the template FT directions on Google.

 

They need to be set out in a similar format to the Particulars of Claim template above. Instead change the particulars of claim part to "Draft Directions Order".

 

Put the following:

 

UPON having read the papers in the case and

 

UPON having considered the Directions Questionnaires filed and submitted by the parties

 

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:

 

1. Disclosure of documents will be dealt with as follows:

 

The parties will serve upon each other a standard list of documents for disclosure with a disclosure statement, by no later than 4.30pm [date] (go for about 10 weeks ahead)

The parties will have 14 days from [date] to request inspection of documents.

Any request must be complied with within 14 days of the request or an explanation as to why the request is objected must be provided within 14 days.

 

2. Evidence of fact will be dealt with as follows:

Both parties must serve on each other, witness statements upon which they intend to rely by no later than 4.30pm on [date] (go for about 4weeks ahead of disclosure)

The parties will not be able to rely on a witness at trial without a written statement being submitted within the deadline, except with the permission of the court.

 

3. No expert evidence allowed.

 

4. The trial window is ________________________________ (leave blank for the judge/court to fill in)

 

5. The trial date is ________________________________ (leave blank for the judge/court to fill in), with a scheduled time period of 1 day.

 

6. The pre-trial checklist be dispensed with.

 

7. The claim be allocated to the fast track."

 

Now the above is off the top of my head. It needs to comply with CPR 28 and any Practice Direction applicable to CPR 28. Hopefully if I've done something wrong, someone will step in here!! I don't think I have though to be honest.

 

Finally sign and date!

 

3. ADR

"ADR" is an umbrella term for any kind of alternative dispute resolution - this could be, without prejudice negotiations either in person/by telephone or in writing. Such correspondence cannot be exhibited to the court so any admission made is not evidence. If you mark something "without prejudice save as to costs" it can be shown to the court when dealing with costs, along with anything else that shows the other side have been unreasonable in their conduct.

 

You could also "mediate", which I explained in my previous reply/

 

Hope this helps - if you need more info please do post here. Sorry for the very very long post. Please share your DQ deadline on here if you do not mind so I can get an idea of timescales.

 

Cheers

Riz0

[Riz0]

I've just found the standard fast track directions:

 

http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part28/pd_part28#IDAXBUJC

 

Look at "Appendix A". That is the wording that needs to be used. You can amend it as you like.

[steampowered]

he denied borrowing any money and said i should prove my claim. .... Thats it. There was no mention of SB.

It is surprising that this is not in his Defence. If it is not in his Defence I am not sure whether the judge would entertain that argument at trial.

 

Best not to mention it until he does. If he does, you can suggest it would be appropriate for the hearing to be adjourned in order to allow him to submit an amended Defence, with an order for costs of the adjournment. If that doesn't fly, you need to be prepared with reasons why you think it is not SB. Loans are SB 6-years from when repayment was due.

On what basis can I ask him to indemnify my legal costs when I am representing myself?

As you are in fast track the default rule is that the loser will pay the winner's legal costs. Have a read of the sticky about Litigant in Person costs - bring a schedule of costs setting out time spent on the case at 18 an hour to the hearing.

 

 

I personally would not bother with a Reply, since the Defence does not raise any new legal matters and nothing which is not already covered by your Particulars of Claim.

[Ganymede]

Riz0 offers some great guidance for completing the Directions Questionnaire, however he/she is wrong about the witnesses.

 

There is no property in a witness and you cannot hide who they are. The other side are entitled to contact the witnesses to obtain statements as well.

[Andyorch]

 

I personally would not bother with a Reply, since the Defence does not raise any new legal matters and nothing which is not already covered by your Particulars of Claim.

 

even consider moving to strike out the defence as it has no merit and request Summary Judgment.

 

Regards

 

Andy

[Riz0]

Riz0 offers some great guidance for completing the Directions Questionnaire, however he/she is wrong about the witnesses.

 

There is no property in a witness and you cannot hide who they are. The other side are entitled to contact the witnesses to obtain statements as well.

 

Correct, there is no property in a witness. That is not however the reason for not disclosing names/numbers of witnesses.

 

I doubt it is relevant to this case, so maybe we are going a bit off topic here - but disclosing witnesses names who then later fail to provide witness evidence can expose weaknesses to the other side.

 

If you turn up with a witness statement that isn't very strong but covers the same facts that you said at DQ stage were going to be provided by somebody else, they can read into that and often use it against you - i.e. make it the subject of serious examination under Part 18 etc. Again, probably not relevant here.

 

even consider moving to strike out the defence as it has no merit and request Summary Judgment.

 

Regards

 

Andy

 

I agree. This is the first time I am helping a LiP with a case in this manner, so I wasn't sure whether a SO/SJ application would be appropriate, given the difficulties one would face.

 

The only reason I recommended a Reply is that it would help strategically before going into the mediation, as long as it is pleaded well.

 

I'm not sure how strike out would be achieved here. It seems as if the defendant hasn't pleaded a very good defence, but he has denied the loan. As this comes down largely to a dispute of fact, a trial and witness evidence is going to be deemed necessary.

 

Unless there is a technicality? Lack of statement of truth? I've got a feeling the Defence will be on the form itself, rather than set out separately, so that is unlikely.

 

It is obviously difficult to say without having the papers to hand.

 

It is surprising that this is not in his Defence. If it is not in his Defence I am not sure whether the judge would entertain that argument at trial.

 

Best not to mention it until he does. If he does, you can suggest it would be appropriate for the hearing to be adjourned in order to allow him to submit an amended Defence, with an order for costs of the adjournment. If that doesn't fly, you need to be prepared with reasons why you think it is not SB. Loans are SB 6-years from when repayment was due. As you are in fast track the default rule is that the loser will pay the winner's legal costs. Have a read of the sticky about Litigant in Person costs - bring a schedule of costs setting out time spent on the case at 18 an hour to the hearing.

 

I personally would not bother with a Reply, since the Defence does not raise any new legal matters and nothing which is not already covered by your Particulars of Claim.

 

I was under the impression that the OP only demanded the money very recently? Hence it was not "due and owing" prior to that and is therefore well within the limitation period?

 

Apologies if I am mistaken.

 

If the defendant is being advised by a solicitor behind the scenes, who actually claimed limitation in without prejudice correspondence beforehand, it is probably that they know the argument won't wash in court? Just speculating here of course.

[steampowered]

I was under the impression that the OP only demanded the money very recently? Hence it was not "due and owing" prior to that and is therefore well within the limitation period?

 

Apologies if I am mistaken.

 

If the defendant is being advised by a solicitor behind the scenes, who actually claimed limitation in without prejudice correspondence beforehand, it is probably that they know the argument won't wash in court? Just speculating here of course.

 

That is certainly the position the op should take. I have some doubts about whether the judge would accept that in practice if limitation is contested ... you wouldn't normally wait 8 years before demanding repayment of a loan. I think it is a contestable argument so would have expected at least a mention in the Defence, also because the solicitors mentioned limitation in their 'without prejudice' letter.

[Riz0]

That is certainly the position the op should take. I have some doubts about whether the judge would accept that in practice if limitation is contested ... you wouldn't normally wait 8 years before demanding repayment of a loan. I think it is a contestable argument so would have expected at least a mention in the Defence, also because the solicitors mentioned limitation in their 'without prejudice' letter.

 

Ah, I see. You may be right on that point due to the length of time.

 

However - with it being a loan to a friend and the OP being unwell for a long time, I can see how this would play out. I.e. OP lends money to friend and says "pay me back when I need it or soon" (without providing a specific date). Op is unwell and doesn't demand money for some time, when he does, he receives a solicitors response/refusal.

[burmafriday]

Hi All

 

Wow – Gosh - I was busy the last few days as an old business colleague asked me to help him and gave me some work. I thought “income” and got my head down. I just came on line to check CAG. I have not even checked my mailbox. I am speechless. Thank you very much for all the comments and contributions. I am really overwhelmed.. Wow.

 

Thank you Riz0 for your detailed guide. You have really, really helped me with the form.

I had been pulling my documents and putting all my thoughts down and writing a reply to the defense earlier, but based on the recent comments, there are quite a few more aspects for me to go through.

 

Riz0 is totally correct. I had a long illness. There was not much I can do regarding the loan. As this is an open ended loan - where no repayment deadline was set, nor any official written repayment request made, we are under Clause (3) section 6 of the Limitation Act of 1980 where the limitation period only begins to run when a written repayment demand is made. (I am indebted to Steampowered for this) I will not mention anything about this matter as Steampowered had suggested. I will see if the defense comes back with SB at any time.

 

As I said earlier, I had been thinking long and hard about my reply to his defense. He stated that his “weekly salary “ was XXX (he actually gave a figure) and ALL the payments I made to his credit cards are part of the payments due to him as his salary. I was going to send him a CPR31.14 request for a detailed breakdown of the payments he received as his salary. He was not employed by me as staff. He is self-employed . He prepared and submitted his own PAYE. He merely contracted to me as and when I have a job for him to do. I have my proof of payments towards the fees for his services. (his “salary“ if you like)

 

I can write and put in the CPR31.14 request now. What do you think? It would be interesting if he replies and the "salary" is more than what he declared as XXX. But then I do not think he would reply. Can I ask CAG- if a Defendant receives a CPR31.14 request, is he required to reply by law, is it mandatory?

 

Johninyork raised a point about criminal intent to defraud. I believe we have now found this. If ALL the payments I made towards his credit cards were payments for his services which I contracted (his “salary” payments) clearly he has defrauded H.M. Revenue and Customs.

 

Perhaps you can let me have your thoughts on this….. or shall we leave it for another time, as it would be digressing??

 

In the meantime, I am going to digest everything and go through each point raised and put my case together again. I will get back to you ASAP.

 

A really big thank you to everyone. I am really grateful.

 

This has to be one of the best threads in CAG

 

thank you. BF.

Edited September 13, 2013 by burmafriday
missing sign off

[steampowered]

CPR 31.14 can only be used to ask for documents mentioned in a statement of case, i.e. his Defence. Unless he actually referred to credit card statements you cannot use a CPR 31.14 request to ask for them. You also cannot use CPR 31.14 to ask for a breakdown.

 

You can ask for further information (not documents) by using a CPR 18 request but no obligation on the Defendant to respond. There is a sticky about this here: http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?255329-CPR-part-18-vs-CPR-31.14-Confused-well-read-here.

 

I would leave the intent to defraud thing alone. Whether or not he has paid the correct amount of tax is not relevant to the case at hand. His tax liability depends on the actual legal nature of the payments, not what he thinks the legal position is or says the legal position is in his Defence. He cannot have "defrauded" HMRC if this is a loan since there would be no tax liability to defraud, you cannot defraud HMRC out of nothing. If you lose the case you can report him to HMRC but I think this is not something to get excited about.

 

I would be inclined to wait until the case reaches the disclosure stage before seeking further documents. This comes later. In any event if you already have proof of what payments were made and when from your own statements, I am not sure his statements would add anything.

[fletch70]

If the loan was interest free or at an interest rate well below a commercially available one then I believe there could well be a tax liability as a benefit in kind. Don't quote me on that just that many years ago I had an interest free loan from my employer of 2K to buy a car and had to pay some tax on the saving in interest

[JOHNINYORK]

I think what Burmafriday means when says quote,

 

" If ALL the payments I made towards his credit cards were payments for his services which I contracted (his “salary” payments)".

 

Is that the money was paid into the credit card account as wages,we can disregard the word loan for the moment.We shall call B/M's associate Mr X.Would Mr X have declared that £10000 to HMRC,if not,why not.As it £10000 of salary as Mr X states it to be in his defence "stated that he worked for me and all payments I made to his credit cards were part of the salary due to him."

So Mr X has the choice of repaying the loan,or to be reported to HMRC,who will go back years.

 

Regards,John.

Edited September 13, 2013 by JOHNINYORK

[burmafriday]

Hi All

Thank you again for your comments and contributions.

I agree with Steampowered. I will leave out all reference regarding defraud.

And yes in his defense he mentioned

a. his credit card statements

b. I employed him

c. He was on salary

d. His exact salary

So I can make a CPR 31.14 request for any and all of the above.

And I think I should make this now rather than later. If he fails to furnish this information,

When requested then it would be interesting to see how he would substantiate his defense.

 

What do you think?

 

At the moment I got a lot to put together based on all the contributions and my aim is to get it all done over the weekend.

 

Thanks again for everyone.

BF

[Ganymede]

31.14 is just for documents such as the credit card statements.

 

If this is fast track then disclosure will be dealt with in full later.

[burmafriday]

Hi Ganymede

thank you.

BF

 

 

 

Hi All,

 

I have a few questions as I have been going through the various contributions and comments and I wanted to quote Steampowered’s comments in post #37

 

“It is surprising that this is not in his Defence. If it is not in his Defence I am not sure whether the judge would entertain that argument at trial. “

 

Can you pl clarify what you are referring to? Statute Barred?

 

You then go on to state

“I personally would not bother with a Reply, since the Defence does not raise any new legal matters and nothing which is not already covered by your Particulars of Claim.”

 

This was supported by Andyorch’s post # 39 where

“even consider moving to strike out the defence as it has no merit and request Summary Judgment.”

 

This is the full Defence statement

 

...QUOTE

It is denied that I borrowed money from the Claimant between the dates pleaded. Therefore I did not promise to repay any such money nor did I fail to do so.

I did not borrow xxxx from the Claimant as alleged or pleaded.

I do not consequently owe the Claimant interest as pleaded

 

The Claimant employed me from the years 2002 to 2010. I was paid xxx per week

 

The Claimant paid me on different dates my salary by cash, cheque bank transfer and finally payments of my credit card bills

 

All payments made by the Claimant to any of my credit card bills was part of the payments due to me as my salary

The claimant is put to proof of all aspects of his claim.

 

...UNQUOTE

 

In my original Claim, I had included a full detailed list each and every payment made to his credit card which was the loan I had made, supported by bank statements.

(Therefore I feel I have covered the matter of his borrowings and already proved them in my particulars of claim.)

 

I can also show a list of payments made for his services.

 

(For the sake of clarity I want to stress that he was not under my employ. I contracted his services over a period and he was paid for work he carried out. He carried out a lot of work for me over this period)

 

It would appear that he can merely deny everything in his Defence.

On the basis that I had submitted full details of the borrowings in my particulars of claim, can he simply make this statement in his defence?

 

Would you still say that his Defence has no merit ?

 

I can provide an extensive list of all payments I made to him. Should I do include this in my reply ?

 

Thanks very much

 

BF

[steampowered]

Hi,

 

Yes, when I said I was surprised he did not mention it in his Defence I was referring to the Statute Barred issue. I suspect that the judge will not entertain this line of attack if he rasies it for the time at trial, though it is ultimately up to the judge so you should be prepared.

 

My opinion on the Reply is unchanged. You say he borrowed money. He says he did not borrow money. This is not an issue which will be resolved by sending documents to each other. It can only be resolved by a judge and the appropriate place for it to be resolved is at a hearing. As you say you feel you have already proved your claim in the POC, so I am not sure what your Reply would say other than just repeating the Particulars of Claim. Of course if you feel there is some new information to add in response to his Defence then feel free to serve a Reply with this new information.

 

If you feel you can prove based on the documents that the Defendant has no real prospect of successfully defending your claim, then you can apply for summary judgment. There will be additional paperwork and court fees for this. I personally would be inclined to wait until the hearing, which will be decided on a balance of probabilities.

[burmafriday]

Hi Steampowered,

Thank you for your comments. I have proof of payment of his fees as well as the proof of payment to his cards. I have completed my 2nd draft reply and am finalizing everything this weekend for submission on Tuesday. i agree that its his word against mine and that it will be decided on balance of probability and to that end, i feel i must submit substantiating evidence to support my "word". I am afraid of leaving everything till the hearing because i will probably stutter and fall apart. 30 years ago i would know what to do and how to approach a situation like this,(I probably would not have helped him to this extent) but now, since my breakdowns I find that i must write things down, have a clear structure and a plan. Thats the reason for me making this post and seeking help from CAG as i just did not know where to start.

 

I am very grateful for yours and everyone's help and advice so far.

I will of course let you all know how I got on.

Many thanks, BF