Customer issued court proceedings against us (small family run garage)

[Mike_hawk]

There is a complaints procedure, if you want to try to recover any costs for the wasted day you should begin by writing directly to the court manager expressing your dissatisfaction and providing details of any costs/damage incurred due to the courts tardiness.

[andydd]

Yes surely the court should pay your costs either at the lip rate or costs you can prove. My case had been marred by shoddiness and mistakes from the beginning too, it's now nearly a year ago I started the claim and still not at the hearing yet !

[Emz0305]

Trial Date is this Thursday

[Mike_hawk]

Best of luck......... shout if you think of anything tomorrow that you want to go over before trial

[Emz0305]

Thanks

[citizenB]

Best of luck

[Emz0305]

On way back from court and my dad lost :/ the hearing was a total farce, they were running half hour late because court usher sent the claimant for a coffee. Basically the judge probably spent the half hour reading the 'expert report' and allowed it and said that he was basing the whole claim on that report. He said he doubts it was biased even though the claimant probably knew him. The judge wasn't interested really in anything we had to say. He accepted that we were not afforded the opportunity to repair the vehicle so knocked 25% off the court costs. TOTAL FARCE!!! On a more positive note, claimant was only awarded £1257 of the £2300 he was claiming for.

[raydetinu]

Well well!, defies all logic. Judges really are a law unto themselves?

[Emz0305]

Complete joke, to think we've had to pay for that report too, considering the court never far permission and we didn't even get informed about it we still had to pick up the bill of £250 even though it probably went it claimants back pocket, as the invoice looked as though it'd been typed on same computer as all his tripe. Funny how the report was even in the same font too lol pathetic really but I'm a great believer in karma and what goes around comes around etc. We can hold our heads up high knowing we've done everything by the book and not had to invent evidence to back anything up. Just goes to show though that anyone can walk into a court with a document that could well be fabricated and it's taken at face value.

[citizenB]

I am truly sorry to hear this

[andydd]

Sad to hear this, the court has shown that they have been quite inept so far and have allowed all sorts of breaches of CPR, etc.

 

The trouble is that both sides normally know the full truth and think its obvious that everyone will see it the same way, but the Judge knows none of this, all he has is a few bits of paper in front of him and normally hasnt spent much time reading them either, in this case, the only expert report in front of him was the other sides (even though he didnt have permission to use it).

 

In cases like this, you really must be on the ball and anything you think is a breach of CPR/Timescales, get in a proper application to have it struck out (either the individual item or the whole case).

 

In this case you should of put in a proper application to have the experts report struck out, yes there would of been a cost to this, (£45 or so), but this is vitally important IMO, chipping away at his case and getting docs disallowed can be very helpful.

 

As Ive mentioned, Ive used the Summary Judgement process twice to get complete cases by my Freeholder struck out, so avoided going to a full hearing.

[Emz0305]

I know Andy but I'm not sure this judge would have struck out this report even on application as he said he had the power to allow it anyway and said that it was a very important part of the evidence. It was all the claimant had, without this report he had nothing. If the judge had have bothered to read through the claimants Mechanical Data and facts documents then he would have seen that it was almost word for word. What really pees me off is that this man who wrote the report is defo a friend of the claimant and that report was very very biased and not very professionally wrote. This is what I find most unfair, that even though the expert had lived in the same village as the claimant it was still allowed.

 

Anyway, onward and upward lol I now have the headache and stress of closing down the old company as we've gone limited now so have a huge backlog of work.

 

Would just like to say thank you to everyone for all your help and support and I don't think we would have managed without it, win or lose you lot really helped THANKS

[andydd]

Unfortunatley I dont think Judges will investigate expert reports too much, its in front of them and they will take it at face value, the claimant and or expert will have signed a statement of truth and could face consequences if found to be lying.

 

IF you had made an application to strike it out, there would of been a seperate hearing and the validity of it and CPR breaches would be put under the microscope, I think the other side would of have to explain why he has breached the CPR.

 

Things like 'living in same village' and 'must be a friend' etc sound a bit petty and are not really legal arguments.

 

Did you see this > http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-27734291 its all about dodgy experts, the trouble is that a court is duty bound to accept everything an expert says, this leaves it wide open to abuse, as Panorama found out.

 

Glad we have helped but its a real shame about the outcome.

[Mike_hawk]

I'd like to say I'm surprised... but I'm not

 

County courts are so bogged down that DJ's will take the easy option if presented with one. Perhaps a little more work discrediting the witness would have sufficed but it is what it is. You could appeal but given the value its probably simplest to take it on the chin and look at it as a grand saved.

 

I don't think an app to strike out would have done you any favours and would probably have left you open to the other sides costs in failure.

 

The reality is that you'll probably treat as you find in the future, avoiding the screamers looking for a favour and doing what you can to poach the witnesses clients... He's only got himself to blame and to be frank I'd do the same.

[andydd]

I'd like to say I'm surprised... but I'm not

 

County courts are so bogged down that DJ's will take the easy option if presented with one. Perhaps a little more work discrediting the witness would have sufficed but it is what it is. You could appeal but given the value its probably simplest to take it on the chin and look at it as a grand saved.

 

I don't think an app to strike out would have done you any favours and would probably have left you open to the other sides costs in failure.

 

The reality is that you'll probably treat as you find in the future, avoiding the screamers looking for a favour and doing what you can to poach the witnesses clients... He's only got himself to blame and to be frank I'd do the same.

 

I think an app to strike out some aspects where there are clear breach of CPR, for example, no permission for expert report would of had some chance of success, it is true there could be a costs risk, but in the case the other side was an LiP, so youd be looking at maybe £18ph costs, it would be bit more risky if they had a solicitor and the costs could be higher and even if the Judge did allow the expert repoirts you could of argued it WAS a breach of CPR and that at the side at fault should cover his costs.

 

I agree with courts being bogged down, this case shows numerous errors and failure to follow the simplest CPRs by the court, in my ongoing case it has been a long list of errors, sending me someone elses paperwork, setting a date to soon that breached all the CPR rules, striking out case by mistake and now finally I see hearing will be on paperwork only, no attendance.