County court and police action

[JamesT1]

Hi, can a case that has been heard in the county court also be the subject of a police investigation and prosecution?

 

I.e. if someone owed money and the money was gained illegally, and the case was dealt with in the county court and was being re-paid, could the creditor then decide to take action with the police and prosecute? thanks

[fkofilee]

We need more info to advise, however, They could prosecute if there was any reason to suspect criminal or fraudulent activity has been involved.

[BazzaS]

Hi, can a case that has been heard in the county court also be the subject of a police investigation and prosecution?

 

I.e. if someone owed money and the money was gained illegally, and the case was dealt with in the county court and was being re-paid, could the creditor then decide to take action with the police and prosecute? thanks

 

Yes, the creditor can report possible illegality to the police, and a prosecution might follow (if sufficient evidence was found on investigation for the file to be passed to the CPS, and they decide to prosecute)

 

Usually, though, if there is a criminal prosecution, this happens before the civil case.

 

A preceeding criminal conviction (given both the higher standard of proof of "beyond reasonable doubt" against "on balance of probabilities", and the provisions of the Civil Evidence Act) mean that the civil case becomes much more of a "slam dunk".

 

A civil case might succeed where a criminal case might not yield a guilty verdict though (it wasn't in the UK but as an example, OJ Simpson was found not guilty of his wife's murder, but had to pay compensation for a civil court case for causing her death).

 

If a civil court felt there was clear evidence of criminality, with the police not yet involved : they can adjourn the hearing and refer the matter to the police.

 

If the creditor believed there had been a crime : they might well be asked "why didn't they go the police before"?