If you have completed the pre-action stages of litigation under the Court rules and are considering issuing proceedings,you should be aware of the milestones of litigation and exactly what those milestones involve.
Statements of Case
Right at the beginning of a claim, the person making the claim (the Claimant) will file and serve Particulars of Claim setting out their case and the remedy sought. Provided that your opponent (the Defendant) is intending to defend the claim, they will then set our their position a document referred to as a Defence. At this stage, the Defendant may also make a counterclaim, if for example, it is their position that they are owed monies in return.
Interim Remedies
You should be aware that it is entirely possible to obtain a judgment against your opponent without going to trial. If the Defendant fails to file a Defence within the required timeframe then you can apply to the Court for default judgment.
Similarly, you may apply to the court for summary judgment / strike out if, once you have received the Defence, it can be established that the Defence has no real prospect of succeeding.
Costs and Case Management Conference (CCMC)
The next stage is the CCMC, which is a procedural hearing whereby the Court gives directions for the future conduct of the case and makes an order approving the parties’ costs budgets. Usually, the order will provide a timetable for the disclosure of documents and witness statements (amongst other directions as necessary). A trial window will be set which, dependant on the complexity of your case, could be some 6-10 months down the line.
Disclosure
The purpose of disclosure is for each party to make available documents which either support or undermine their case. Each party will then be allowed to inspect these documents. This may include documents that are harmful, sensitive or confidential, but particular care should be taken to preserve all documents. The Court will take a very dim view of any party who fails to disclose or destroys relevant documents, and that party could very well find themselves hit with a hefty adverse costs order. Disclosure is normally the most time-consuming and costly stage of litigation.
Witness Statements
It is useful to identify early on who you intend to give witness evidence and the issues that they are best placed to give evidence in relation to. A written statement will be prepared for each individual which will then be filed with the Court and sent to your opponent. A witness may be called to trial to be cross-examined on their statement.
Expert Evidence
Expert evidence is used if your case involves matters on which the court does not have the requisite technical knowledge. For example, you may need a surveyor to value a property or a forensic accountant to value your shares.
Expert evidence is usually given in the form of a written report, which must be the independent product of the expert. The expert’s overriding duty is to the court and not to the party that instructed them.
Trial
Most cases settle before reaching trial, due to the growing burden of legal costs, stress and time. Indeed, we recommend that settlement is considered at every stage of proceedings. If your case does reach trial, a Barrister will normally be instructed to represent you and make submissions on your case. Witnesses and experts (if appropriate) will be called to give evidence and will be cross-examined.
The judgment may be given immediately after the trial but is often “reserved” to a later date, particularly in complex matters.
