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Key Rules: CPR Parts 6 and 26 and CPR Schedule 1
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| 2.1 |
Claims are issued out of the High Court of Justice, Chancery Division, either in the Royal Courts of Justice (Chancery Chambers) or in a District Registry. There is no Production Centre for Chancery claims.
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| 2.2 |
The claim form must be issued either as a Part 7 claim under Part 7, or as a Part 8 claim under the alternative procedure for claims in Part 8.
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| 2.3 |
When issuing proceedings, the general rule is that the title of the claim should contain only the names of the parties to the proceedings. To this there are four exceptions: (a) proceedings relating to the administration of an estate, which should be entitled "In the estate of AB deceased" (some cases relating to the estates of deceased Lloyd's names require additional wording: see paragraph 26.53 below); (b) contentious probate proceedings, which should be entitled "In the estate of AB deceased (probate)"; (c) proceedings under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, which should be entitled "In the Matter of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975"; and (d) proceedings relating to pension schemes, which may be entitled "In the Matter of the [ ] Pension Scheme". In addition, proceedings in the Companies Court are entitled in the matter of the relevant company or other person and of the relevant legislation: see paragraph 20.5.
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| 2.4 |
Part 6 applies to the service of documents, including claim forms. Unless the claimant notifies the court that he or she wishes to serve the claim form, or the court directs otherwise, it will be served by the court. Many solicitors, however, will prefer to serve the claim form themselves and will notify the court that they wish to do so.
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| 2.5 |
The vast majority of claims issued, and all those retained, in the Chancery Division will be either expressly allocated to the multi-track or in the case of Part 8 claims, deemed allocated to that track. Chapter 13 deals with transfer to county courts.
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| 2.6 |
In addition to the matters which PD 16 requires to be set out specifically in the particulars of claim, a party must set out in any statement of case:
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(1) |
full particulars of any allegation of fraud, dishonesty, malice or illegality;
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(2) |
where any inference of fraud or dishonesty is alleged, the facts on the basis of which the inference is alleged.
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| 2.7 |
A party should not set out allegations of fraud or dishonesty unless there is material admissible in evidence to support the contentions made. Setting out such matters without such material being available may result in the particular allegations being struck out and may result in wasted costs orders being made against the legal advisers responsible.
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| 2.8 |
Points of law may be set out in any statement of case, and any point to be taken under the Human Rights Act 1998 must be so set out.
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| 2.9 |
In the preparation of statements of case, the guidelines in Appendix 2 should be followed.
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| 2.10 |
The guidelines apply to: the claim form (unless no particulars are given in it); particulars of claim; defence; Part 20 claim; reply to a defence; and a response to a request for further information under Part 18.
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| 2.11 |
Parties should not attach copies of documents or any expert's report to their statement of case if they are bulky.
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| 2.12 |
Notwithstanding rule 15.8, claimants should if possible serve any reply before they file their allocation questionnaire. This will enable other parties to consider the reply before they file their allocation questionnaire.
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| 2.13 |
This procedure is appropriate in particular where there is no substantial dispute of fact, such as where the case raises only questions of the construction of a document or a statute. Additionally, however, a large number of particular claims must be brought under Part 8 pursuant to PD 8. Of particular relevance will be applications to enforce charging orders by sale, contested applications with respect to funds in court, contentious probate claims and proceedings relating to solicitors. Subject to jurisdiction, applications to enforce charging orders are now issued in the court in which the charging order was made. Proceedings to enforce charging orders made in any division of the High Court and the Court of Appeal are issued in the Chancery Division.
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| 2.14 |
Provision is also made in Part 8 for a claim form to be issued without naming a defendant with the permission of the court. No separate application for permission is required where personal representatives seek permission to distribute the estate of a deceased Lloyd's name nor for applications under section 48 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985ActsActs (see further Chapter 26 -- Trusts). Where permission is needed, it is to be sought by application notice under Part 23.
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| 2.15 |
Part 8 claims will generally be disposed of on written evidence. The features of the Part 8 procedure are:
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(1) |
no particulars of claim
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(2) |
no defence
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(3) |
no allocation questionnaire
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(4) |
no judgment in default
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(5) |
normally no oral evidence.
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| 2.16 |
Defendants who wish to contest a Part 8 claim or to take part in the proceedings should complete and file the acknowledgment of service in form N210 which accompanies the claim form. Alternatively the information required to be contained in the acknowledgment of service can be provided by letter. A party who does not wish to contest a claim should indicate that fact on the form acknowledging service or by letter.
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| 2.17 | Claimants must file the written evidence, namely evidence by witness statement, on which they intend to rely with the claim form. Defendants are required to file and serve their evidence when they file their acknowledgment of service, namely within 14 days after service of the claim form (rule 8.5(3)). By paragraph 5.6 of PD 8, Alternative Procedure for Claims, a defendant's time for filing evidence may be extended by agreement for not more than 14 days from the filing of the acknowledgment of service. Any such agreement must be filed with the court by the defendant at the same time as he or she files an acknowledgment of service. The claimant has 14 days for filing evidence in reply but this period may be extended by agreement for not more than 28 days from service of the defendant's evidence. Again, any such agreement must be filed with the court. Any longer extension either for the defendant or the claimant requires an application to the court. It is recognised that in substantial matters the provisions in Part 8 may be burdensome upon defendants and in such matters the court will readily grant an extension. If the parties are in agreement that such an extension should be granted the application should be made in writing by letter. The parties should at all times act co-operatively.
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| 2.18 |
Defendants who acknowledge service but do not intend to file evidence should notify the court in writing when they file their acknowledgment of service that they do not intend to file evidence. This enables the court to know what each defendant's intention is when it considers the file.
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| 2.19 |
The general rule (exceptions include, for example, some claims under the Variation of Trusts Act 1958Acts or where a party has made a Part 24 application) is that the court file will be considered by the court after the time for acknowledgment of service has expired, or, if the time for serving the defendant's evidence has been extended, after the expiry of that period.
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| 2.20 |
In some cases if the papers are in order the court will not require any oral hearing, but will be able to deal with the matter on paper by making a final order. In other cases the court will direct that the Part 8 claim is listed either for a disposal hearing or for a case management conference.
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