Articles
Strike Out!
Many clients in an attempt to save costs start to initiate Court proceedings themselves and complete the forms without taking advice. Whilst this can appear to represent a saving in costs there are also hidden dangers of which many clients are unaware.
The Court has power to strike-out a claim if the Claim Form does not comply strictly with the Civil Procedure Rules (known as CPR).
If your case is struck-out you can also be ordered to pay the Defendant’s costs and if you fail to pay those costs you cannot issue fresh proceedings on the same matter until those costs have been paid.
A similar problem can arise where clients try to defend proceedings themselves without having taken the appropriate advice. In the same way a Defence or Counterclaim can be struck-out together with an Order to pay the Claimant’s costs. Many clients are unaware that a Court fee is in fact payable if a Counterclaim is included with the Defence.