Merton Solicitors

I have been sent a letter threatening litigation.  How should I respond?

First of all, don’t ignore it as that will only make matters worse.  If the threat is serious, it should give you a deadline stating how longer you have to respond.  Respond in writing after taking the advice of a solicitor.  Your aim should be to try and keep the dispute out of court otherwise your legal costs will increase.

I want to make a claim.  How should I go about making one?

First you should establish the legitimacy of your claim with a solicitor.  Using your solicitor, send a letter out to the relevant party stating your claim and the time within which they can respond.  If possible you want to settle the claim out of court and save on your legal costs.

If you have been unsuccessful settling your claim out of court, you need to complete a claim form off to the relevant court, usually the county court.  A solicitor will be invaluable in helping you draft your claim.    If applying to the county court, there are three tracks, which are:

• Small claims – claims below £5000
• Fast-track – claims between £5000 and £25000
• Multi-track – claims more than £25000

A copy of the claim should be sent to the other party.

If the courts accept your claim, you will be given an ‘order for directions’ which will state when relevant documents need to be submitted and a timetable.

I believe the claim against me has no basis. How do I get it thrown out?

You can make an application to the court to have a claim thrown out if you believe there are no reasonable grounds for bringing a claim in the first place.  If there is no reasonable chance the claim will succeed, you can apply for a summary judgment.  An application for a summary judgment should state why the claim has no chance of success and why there are no reasons for the claim to progress to a full hearing.

Do I have to give information to the other side?

If the claim has gone to court, you should give relevant documentation even where that information is unfavourable to your case or commercially sensitive.  If the information is commercially sensitive, you have all the more reason to try and settle out of court.  You should consider whether the information that is being asked for is entirely relevant to the claim and whether the request is proportionate.  For example, a request for documentation going back 8 years may not be appropriate for a small claim as it might prove to be very costly to get hold of such extensive documentation and thus disproportionate to the claim.

What are my alternatives to litigation?

The main alternative is Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) methods, which includes arbitration and mediation.  A claim is mediated using a neutral third party, usually a mediator.  Mediation is not mandatory, meaning either party can pull out if they so choose.   If both parties come to an agreement, the agreement can be enforceable as a contract.

Arbitration differs from mediation as a neutral third party comes to a decision based on the evidence.  Arbitration judgments are enforceable through the regular courts as both parties agree to be bound by the judgment prior to the proceedings.

We hope this page has been useful, please dio retrurn to Merton business disputes page.