CPR 31.14 Request for disclosure of specific information of documents mentioned in the statement of case (particulars of claim) Often claims for debt are submitted through the Northampton County Courts Bulk Processing centre and the particulars of claim are very limited and do not generally give enough information about the debt to enable you to defend, or admit, the debt with confidence. Therefore we send the claimants a request for documents mentioned in their claim. This requests the claimants supply you with documents which the rely on for bringing the case. We ask for this information under CPR 31.14 which is
Documents referred to in statements of case etc.31.14(1) A party may inspect a document mentioned in – (a) a statement of case;
This must be sent as soon as possible after having received the court claim and after having acknowledged receipt through the MoneyclaimOnline service. It is not applicable after the case has been allocated to a track (small claims/fast/multi track). You can copy (Ctrl C) and paste (Ctrl V) this letter into a Word document for editing and printing before sending (amend the Green parts to suit) or you can download a WORD doc version of this letter here.
Your name Your address Your postcode
Date
Claimants name
Claimants address
Claimants postcode
Dear Sirs,
Claim Number: XXXXXX
Request for documents mentioned in a statement of case under CPR 31.14
On xx/xx/xxxx I received a County Court claim from yourselves of which I have acknowledged receipt indicating my intention to defend in full.To enable me to file my defence and/or counterclaim, I require inspection of documents you mention in your statement of case ahead of filing my defence on XX XXXX 201X
.1. Agreement / Contact
2. Default Notice
3. Assignment
4. Formal Demand
In accordance with CPR 31.15(c) I undertake to be responsible for your reasonable copying costs incurred in complying with this CPR 31.14 request. You should note that this claim has not yet been allocated to a specific track and the provisions of CPR 27(2) are of no effect. You should ensure compliance with your CPR 31 duties and ensure that the document(s) I have requested are copied to and received by me within 7 days of receiving this letter. If you require more time in which to comply with this request you must tell me in writing and confirm your agreement to an extension of the time allowed for me to file my defence as allowed under CPR 15.5 so I may notify the court.I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Your Name
You may receive a response from the claimants disputing your rights to request these documents, usually because your claim would likely be allocated to the small claims track (where, once allocated, CPR 31.14 would not apply) You can respond to this letter reminding the claimant the claim has not yet been allocated to any track;
Your name
Your address
Your postcode
Date
Claimants name
Claimants address
Claimants postcode
Dear Sirs,
Claim No: xxxxxxx
Claimant v Defendant
Request for documents mentioned in a statement of case under CPR 31.14
Thank you for your response to my request for disclosure of documents mentioned in your statement of case under CPR 31.14. With regards to your assertion that ”we confirm this matter will most properly be allocated to the small claim track as this is a simple contractual matter and part 31 of the civil procedure rules will therefore not apply.” I am afraid I must disagree, the case has not been allocated to a track for determination and as a consequence the provisions of CPR 27(2) have no effect and you should not seek to avoid compliance with your CPR 31 duties by claiming otherwise. I am unable to lodge my defence and/or counterclaim at this moment as I have no information regarding the alleged debt. If you require more time in which to comply with this request you must tell me in writing and state a date by when you will comply with this request. In addition I require a written statement that you agree to an extension of 28 days to the date for filing my defence as allowed under CPR 15.5. If you are unwilling to comply with my request for specific disclosure please inform me and I will consider entering an application to the court to obtain such. I look forward to hearing from you within the next 7 days.
Yours sincerely
Your Name
If you receive no response or the claimant continues to refuse to supply documents, or if they say they will supply documents but it make take longer than the time you have to file a defence but refuse to confirm their agreement to an extension of time under the CPR, then you need to apply to the court for an order making them comply with your request. You must do this before the deadline for entering your defence. An application for a directions order costs £80 to be decided at a hearing, or £45 to be dealt with without a hearing. You will need form N244. This can be downloaded N244 (opens in new window) If you are on a low income or certain means- tested benefits you may be eligible for fee remission. In which case you can complete the EX160 form. There are instructions on how to do this here. Completing the N244 Application The form is mostly self explanatory but this is an example of the completed form for reference.
This is suggested text for section 3.
3: What order are you asking the court to make and why?An order (a draft of which is attached)that the Claimant shall provide the Defendant with copies of the documents listed in the draft order, pursuant to its duties under CPR 31.14 within 7 days of the date of the order.In default of the above the Claim stands struck out without further order.In the event the Claimant complies with the above paragraph then the Defendant shall file and serve his Defence by 4pm on …………………………….. 2014 (not less than 21 days from the date of compliance)The Claimant shall pay the Defendants costs in this application.
You then need to attach a ‘Draft Order for Directions’ and a ‘Witness Statement’ to this application, these should be printed on separate sheets of paper.
IN THE XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX COUNTY COURT
Claim No. XXXXXXXX
BETWEEN:
XXXXXXXXXX
Claimant
– and –
Defendant
XXXXXXXXXX
_________________________________ORDER _________________________________
Before District Judge Sitting at the Northampton County Court CC BC, 4th floor, St Katharine’s House, 21-27 St Katharine’s Street, Northampton Northamptonshire, NN1 2LH, on the …………. day of ………….. 2014 UPON reading the Defendant’s Application Notice dated …….Todays Date……… And UPON the Court noting that the Claimant remains in breach of the Civil Procedure Rules Pre Action Protocol Practice Direction and CPR Rule 31.14. IT IS ORDERED THAT: 1: The Claimant shall by 4pm on ……………………………… 2014 (7 days from the date of this order) provide the Defendant a copies of the following documents mentioned in the Claim Form pursuant to CPR Rule 31.14. a) The Credit Agreement b) The Default Notice c) The assignment 2: If the Claimant fails to comply with paragraph 1 the Claim shall stand struck out without further order. 3: Upon the Claimant complying with paragraph 1 the Defendant shall file and serve his Defence by 4pm on……………………………… 2014. (21 days after compliance with para 1) 4: The Claimant do pay the Defendant’s costs in this application to be assessed if not agreed.
You will also need a Witness Statement WITNESS STATEMENT – the sections in green will need amending and further information regarding contact with the Claimants adding. If you mention a letter or document you should name it as an [EXHIBIT ] attach it to this Witness Statement. This is JUST AN EXAMPLE and you should adjust to suit your own case and circumstances. If in any doubt please post on the forum.
IN THE XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX COUNTY COURT
Claim No. XXXXXXXX
BETWEEN:
XXXXXXXXXX
Claimant
– and –
Defendant
XXXXXXXXXX
_________________________________WITNESS STATEMENT OF xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx _________________________________
I XXXXXXXXXX of XXXXXXXXXX address XXXXXXXXXX being the Defendant in this case will state as follows; 1. I make this Witness Statement in support of the application for an order that the Claimant do provide copies of documents pursuant to CPR 31.14. 2: CPR rule 31.14 states (1) A party may inspect a document mentioned in – (a) a statement of case; (b) a witness statement; (c) a witness summary; or (d) an affidavit The Defendant is therefore entitled to inspect copies of the Credit Agreement, the Default notice and the assignment. 3. On XXXXXXXXXX 2014 I made a written request to the Claimant solicitors requesting that the Claimant provides copies of all documents mentioned in the statement of case.[EXHIBIT A] 4. The Claimants claim is based upon the Defendants alleged breach of contract and therefore the contract is entirely cental to the Claimants case. 5. CPR Rule 31.15 requires that documents are provided within 7 days from receipt of a written request. The Claimant has failed to provide any of the documents mentioned in its claim form. 6. On XXXXXXXXXX , I contacted the Claimants by telephone/in writing….summarise what was said and/or attach [EXHIBITS] and repeated my request for copies of documents pursuant to CPR 31.14. I also sought an extension of time for filing my defence to the Claim in accordance with CPR 15.5. Add in any further contact between yourself and the Claimants here and attach written documents as EXHIBITS 7. The Claimant has mentioned the credit Agreement, the default Notice and the assignment in its Statement of Case and yet it has provided none of these documents despite my entitlement to inspect these documents. 8. I refer to the ruling of Rix LJ in Expandable v Rubin [2008] EWCA Civ 59 (at paragraph 24) “The general ethos of the CPR is for a more cards on the table approach to litigation. If a party thinks it worthwhile to mention a document in his pleadings, witness statements or affidavits, I do not see why, subject as I say to the question of privilege, the court should put difficulties in the way of inspection. I look upon the mention of a document in pleadings etc as a form of disclosure. The document in question has not been disclosed by list, or at any rate not yet, but it has been disclosed by mention in what, for the purposes of litigation, is another important and formal category of documents. If so, then the party deploying that document by its mention should in principle be prepared to be required to permit its inspection, and the other party should be entitled to its inspection.” 9. I also refer to the ruling of the Court of Appeal in Mitchell v News Group Newspaper [2013] EWCA Civ 1537 where the court set down clear guidance that the rules must be complied with (see para 41). This application could have been avoided had the Claimant complied with its duties under the CPR. 10. The Claimants pleaded case is that the Defendant entered into an agreement with XXXXX Original Creditor XXXX under account reference XXXXXXXXXXXX. I am uncertain as to which account this refers to. It is accepted that I have had banking products with XXXXX Original Creditor XXXX in the past however the account number given does not relate to any information I have, therefore it is essential that I have sight of the agreement relied upon by the Claimant to be able to accurately identify to what the claim refers. Notwithstanding this, I am unable to consider whether such agreement complies with the statutory provisions of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 until such time as a copy is provided. 11. The Claimants additionally mention a Default Notice. I am unable to consider whether such Default Notice complies with the statutory provisions of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 until such time as a copy is provided. The Act sets out clear form and content requirement, which, if not colpied with, render the Claimant unable to enforce the agreement as per HHJ Chambers QC in Harrison v Link Financial Ltd [2011] 12. I therefore ask that the Court grants an extension of time to file my Defence and orders the Claimant to provide copies of the documents mentioned in its statement of case. I would also ask the Court to order the Claimants pay the costs of this application which could have been avoided had the Claimants had their house in order from the outset. Statement of Truth I, XXXXXX, the Defendant, believe the facts stated within this Witness Statement to be true.
Signed: ________________________________
Dated: