Help preparing for court hearing

[richje100]

Evening all. Long post sorry please bare with me.
After the court hearing to submit evidence for damage to my car from a mechanic (in which the defendant did not turn up) it was agreed that a date for a final hearing would be set up and notified to us both.
Evidence I provided was as follows:
Photos of the damage
Photos before the damage
Copy of a reciept for work I paid to have rectify one of the issues.
This receipt also lists the damage to the car which he seen when he inspected it.
Copy of a quite for replacement parts.

Because I no longer have the car because I could no longer be without for my work travels (already without it for 2weeks whilst it was not drivable) judge allowed me to rely on the receipt which details the issues to the car but also said I need to get a witness statement from him.
The garage does not want to get involved in a legal dispute so its unlikely that he will give a witness statement, what can I do and what implications can this have?

Now the letter has this paragraph (in the pic), is this something that is common or have I done something wrong?

The letter states that they give permission to rely on the receipt with damage noted, and the quite for replacement parts (aswell as statement). No mention of the photographs, dashcam footage or the message conversation back amd forth where he has lied.

And lastly the defendant did not attend mediation or the evidence hearing, how likely is he going to be judged on this?

Sorry for the long post but any help would be greatly appreciated. This is new territory to me so I don't want to get it wrong.

[richje100]

Sorry the pic wouldn't upload here it is

[R0b]

That photo looks like a general statement being made, that you must follow the civil procedure rules and the orders of the court to the letter or you may be liable to sanctions as listed. For example, if you fail to properly set out your witness statement it may be struck out and not used or if you don't send it to the other side on time wihtin the deadline given, the court may not allow you to rely on it if filed late, or if the court has to adjourn because you failed to comply, you may be subject to a costs order of the other side attending for that abandoned hearing.

Without a witness statement the court may give less weight to your evidence. You could offer to write the individual's witness statement based on the description/discussion you have and then have them read and sign it. They don't necessarily need to attend the hearing but would be ideal if they could otherwise again inferences can be made against an absent witness.

A more draconian way of getting the person to court is to issue a witness summons or subpoena as some might call it. The summons is issued by the court and you normally have to pay the cost of the witness attending, like travel or being out of work for example - this amount may be claimed back from the defendant if successful. Form N20 is used.

Rules on Witness Summons are set out in CPR 34.2 and 34.3 and note the exceptions where you need the court's permission. I also suggest you read Practice Direction 34A and the section on witness summons which details how the summons can be issued either by the court or personal service but you need to either deposit or offer a reasonable sum to compensate them for travel or loss of work.

If there is a lapse of time between the repair and the hearing, I'm not sure how much help the mechanic is going to be as he/she may not be able to recall all of the issues with your car. The receipt should be evidence as a starting point but I can understand why the judge wants a witness statement. I don't believe the court can compel you to produce a witness statement other than through a summons it just means your evidence may be given less weight as I mentioned above.

Given the Defendant's lack of attendance it may be that you win by default but still need to prove your case.

[richje100]

Thank you for the detailed response. I will certainly ask the mechanic to do a statement and if he declines do I need to notify the court or do I just leave it out of my evidence?
as the letter says I have permission to use the receipt/report and parts quote can I still include the photos and conversation? And also I mentioned to the judge at the evidence hearing that I have dashcam footage proving he is lying she said I cant use a USB stick for security reasons but can show on my phone or bring in my laptop, do I declare this as evidence or just mention it in court?

[atticus]

You are (or will be) required to disclose evidence in advance of the hearing.

[richje100]

Hi, yes I intend on disclosing everything but as the court letter only mentions the receipt/report and quote for replacement parts that doesn't mean I can't supply anything else does it?

[atticus]

Are you willing to share the wording of the Court order?

[richje100]

Are you willing to share the wording of the Court order?

Sure, here it is. Ive blanked out names & the court. thank you

[atticus]

Thank you.

2 points.

1. Don't forget to pay the court fee by 14 December.

2. You must provide with your witness statement all documents on which you intend to reply. Arguably this includes digital/electronic records including audio or video recordings.

[R0b]

Also to add, the order confirms you can rely on the quote/receipt but as I suspected, you are not being compelled to produce a witness statement from the garage.

[richje100]

Thanks for the reply. So the evidence i brought to the judge at the first hearing, was some of that dismissed? i intended on using:
Damage report (i was given permission to use this as per letter)
Quote to replace the damage parts (i was given permission to use this as per letter)
Photo of the car before the damage and photos after
Dashcam footage to prove he lied about test driving the car.
Conversations between us both which outlines my complaint, the reluctancy to have the car back to fix and him saying he test drove the car for 40miles when in fact it was about 3miles (dashcam to prove)

Statement - which i will struggle to get the garage who repaired part of the work to agree to as he done the report on the basis he wont go to court. If he does not agree do i inform the court before the evidence deadline or just not include it and discuss it at the hearing?
Do i need to make a statement aswell set out like it says in the letter?

And the covering letter for all evidence just simply put court case number and say along the lines of "please find enclosed copies of evidence in which i wish to rely on in court"?

Sorry for the long question.

[atticus]

The order that you have provided says nothing about anything being dismissed. To repeat - you are to provide all documents on which you intend to rely.

[richje100]

The order that you have provided says nothing about anything being dismissed. To repeat - you are to provide all documents on which you intend to rely.

Thats great thank you for your help much appreciated.