Responding to a defence and counterclaim/directions questionnaire

[Alicemo]

Re: Responding to a defence and counterclaim/directions questionnaire

Yes,sorry, it is a bit complicated.

No meeting took place - my partner acted as project manager for the defendants company and as such he was always instructed by the defendant as to which jobs he was working on and when etc They are saying the job over ran which costed the defendant £ and that due to defects he had to pay other sub-contractors to fix the problems. As mentioned this is the first time this has been brought to our attention. If there were defects then as project manager my partner would have called on the tradesman who did the work to come and fix the problem. The main issue on the job that my partner was aware of is that the client stopped paying the defendants invoices so my partner suggested he stops the job until the client pays otherwise the defendant will be out of pocket. Since the defendant was working on a job for a colleague/friend it was all rather political and the defendant said he couldnt pull people off the job. My partner was then asked to move on to another job that was 'paying.'

[Alicemo]

Re: Responding to a defence and counterclaim/directions questionnaire

Point taken but it will cost a hell of alot more than just the one hour at £240.

[Amethyst]

Re: Responding to a defence and counterclaim/directions questionnaire

Thanks.

The invoices you are suing them for, are they for your partners services as project manager on that initial job?

[wales01man]

Re: Responding to a defence and counterclaim/directions questionnaire

I would sincerely hope that you win but when the other side has so much to gain and has a Solicitor unpaid or not helping you are at a definite disadvantage I hope someone on here is able to help sort this mess out .

[Alicemo]

Re: Responding to a defence and counterclaim/directions questionnaire

Thanks.

The invoices you are suing them for, are they for your partners services as project manager on that initial job?

Four of the five invoices are for other jobs (and the defendant has admitted all of them). The fifth invoice is for a couple of different jobs including the one in question in the counterclaim. The defendant has already paid half of this invoice in October so its not being disputed (at the time he said he didn't have the money to settle the balance).

[Amethyst]

Re: Responding to a defence and counterclaim/directions questionnaire

Okay I just wanted to check all the invoices you were claiming for were from after you set up the company as opposed to work carried out as a sole trader.

Getting the N181 submitted will be quite telling how serious they are on the counter claim as they will have to pay the court fee of £300 as well for that part of the claim.

You could speak to a solicitor who specialises in this area for a free half hour which might give you some better guidance on the way forwards with such a large counterclaim - as basically you will now be acting as defendant.

[Alicemo]

Re: Responding to a defence and counterclaim/directions questionnaire

Okay I just wanted to check all the invoices you were claiming for were from after you set up the company as opposed to work carried out as a sole trader.

Getting the N181 submitted will be quite telling how serious they are on the counter claim as they will have to pay the court fee of £300 as well for that part of the claim.

You could speak to a solicitor who specialises in this area for a free half hour which might give you some better guidance on the way forwards with such a large counterclaim - as basically you will now be acting as defendant.

Ok, thanks for your advice Amethyst. One last thing... re: disclosure of non-electronic documents... following on from your post, does this mean that we don't list out the supporting documentation/evidence in the questionnaire but rather set a date to exchange this with the defendants lawyers? Does this have to be by paper correspondence and/or in a face to face meeting? Do we also share this with the court by the set date and is there a template for provision of these? Also is there a guideline as to when we set this date or can we choose any date (perhaps within the first 2 weeks of the 1 month stay [as would like to settle out of court]?)

Thanks in advance

[Larry Lamb]

Re: Responding to a defence and counterclaim/directions questionnaire

Did you win ??