Changing Defendant Name

[beagle10]

Hi,

I've submitted a claim via MCOL against an old friend who I lent a sum of money to a couple of years ago. I've tried endlessly to get my money back and have now issued a claim against them.

Their defence has been struck out because they did not return their directions questionnaire. However, i've been informed they have recently changed their name. I've called the MCOL helpdesk to see how this affects the claim, and have been advised to submit an N244 form to get their name amended on the claim before requesting judgement. I've looked at the form and i'm very confused as to how to complete the form. Could anyone give some guidance on how to complete the form and what I need to do to get this sorted?

Any help would be very much appreciated!

[R0b]

Did the judge strike out the defence and enter judgment in your favour and are you now looking to take enforcement action?

If judgment has been entered you will need to vary the judgment itself so that you incorporate the new married name as well as the former name.

Or when it comes to enforcement, if you are going down the route of getting a bailiff involved then you could provide a witness statement as part of the warrant of execution application - see the link below

http://legalbeagles.info/forums/foru...fter-judgement

[beagle10]

Thanks for your reply. I'm not sure what link you are referring to?

I don't think the judge has entered judgement in my favour. All it says on the MCOL website is "the bar has been removed" and "the defence has been struck out". The claim status is now "Issued"

[Amethyst]

Do you know if they got married and changed name officially before you issued the claim? Are you 100% sure the name has been changed? Do you have any evidence of such ? ( if so include it as an exhibit to the application )

Also do you have a copy of the claim form ? you should take a copy of that ( maybe you can download a copy on MCOL ?) and then using a RED pen, put a line through the defendants name and write next to it the replacement name - same with anywhere you mention the defendants name in the particulars.

Of course filing this might just bring the strike out to the attention of the defendant and they may apply for relief from sanctions and return the DQ. Particularly if they were thinking because of the change of name it didn't matter.

The application will cost you £100 unless you are eligible for fee remission.



So to complete the N244 Application Notice something along these lines

Box 3:

The Claimant respectfully requests that the Defendant's name be amended pursuant to CPR 17.1.(2) (b) and that re-service of the Claim Form be dispensed with.

Box 4: No
Box 5: without a hearing

Box 8: District
Box 9: Defendant


Box 10:

tick ' in the box below' bit

A claim was issued against the Defendant on XX/XX/XXXX in the XXXXXXX county court under claim number XXXXXXX for the recovery of monies owed.

Since that date ( it has come to the Claimants attention that) the Defendant has changed their name due to Marriage and it is therefore incorrect on the Claim Form.( evidence attached )

Therefore, the Claimant respectfully requests that the Claim Form be amended so that the Defendant's name reads "XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX" pursuant to CPR 17.1 (2)(b).

The Claimant respectfully requests that the need for re-service of the amended Claim Form be dispensed with as the claim form was validly served on the Defendant's address. The Defendant entered a Defence to the claim but that Defence was struck out by the court on the xx/xx/xxx by the order of District Judge xxxxxxxx .

[beagle10]

Thank you for your reply Amethyst - very helpful!

I'm certain they were not married or had changed their name before the claim was issued. I became aware of it via friends on Facebook.

Thanks again for your help.

[Amethyst]

Sorry I'd missed R0bs posts. When a Defence is struck out due to non return of the Directions Questionnaire it means you are able to apply for Default Judgment, as opposed to automatically receiving Judgment, so you will have to request judgment once the name has been amended. OR you could apply for the judgment now and THEN apply to change the name... it may well be that the defendant will respond to the judgment order saying ' not my name' in which case you can apply to amend after judgment asper the thread Rob linked you to.

Btw she may well have married and not changed her name, many people don't. I don't think facebook posts would suffice as evidence tbh. And if she has married within the last couple months it is unlikely she'll have got everything changed over so will still be identifiable as the same person for enforcement ( IMO ) particularly if the address remains the same.

[R0b]

Sorry, I'm a bit clueless today.

Ame makes a good point, just because they have re-married does not mean that they have changed their name, and if the claim form was correct at the time, then I would enter judgment first and deal with the amendments afterwards.

[beagle10]

The name was correct at the time the claim was submitted.

You are right - other than photos and Facebook posts, there is nothing to say they have actually changed their name. If I continue to request judgement as it is, will this go against the defendants new name aswell once i've amended the claim?

Sounds like I am best off requesting judgement now, and amending the claim with the advice from the post above with the form N244 later on once I have received judgement. Just trying to make sure I get this right.

I really appreciate all of your help.