Lifting a stay

[dinky201]

Is it normal waiting months to hear anything from a court?

[Pezza54]

Yes it is. Your first post was less than 3 months ago. Patience is a virtue.
Have you prepared your Witness Statement opposing the stay being lifted?

[dinky201]

Yep it's prepared, just waiting

[dinky201]

okay got email (even tho i said they only contact me only by post under the harassment act) from their solicitors today titltled "claimant statement of cost" in it says "Advocate’s Fee for hearing on date 18,06,25'. ". I never heard anything from court or even got letter from them, or a chance for whitness statement.???

[dinky201]

Typo..date 17/06/25

[Pezza54]

Send your witness statement attached to an email or enclosed with a letter to your local county court. Mark you correspondence "URGENT"
State you have been informed by the claimant that the hearing is due to take place on 17.6.2025 but you have not received any notification about the hearing from the court

[dinky201]

Thankyou already sent the witness statement in at 1am in the morning with letter to court stating I never received notice of hearing only heard by email and think they need 14days before hearing, so consider adjourning,
I sent no evidence with it.
I sent note to solicitor they should of asked by post if they wanted to email by court, as I told em before to only contact me by post under protection of harassment act.

[dinky201]

Okay phoned the court, told them i never got a Hearing Notice, he looked at it said one was issued it states a hearing date but no deadlines for submitting anything. He said "you can submit witness statements and evidence etc".. then i asked "dont courts normal want that before the 14days couldnt clamant argue it"? he said "I cant advise as im not legally trained, you can submit things, usaully what happens witness statement be there ready to be read at hearing"

[dinky201]

This what i sent last night, but after phone call I now know no deadline was set, any advice on thing i can add to court will helpful, the CCA agreement is not enfoceable

1. Introduction


1.1 I am the Defendant in this matter and make this witness statement in response to the Claimant’s application to lift the stay on proceedings.

1.2 The contents of this statement are true to the best of my knowledge, belief, and recollection.

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2. Background


2.1 The proceedings in this claim were stayed by the court over two years ago (circa April 2022). I do not have the exact date, but I trust the court will hold a record.

2.2 Since that time, no meaningful action has been taken by the Claimant to progress the matter until now.

2.3 I was not notified of a hearing by the court. I only became aware of a listed hearing for 17 June 2025 today (3 June 2025), through an unsolicited email from the Claimant's solicitors containing their "Statement of Costs."

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3. Prejudice of Lifting the Stay


3.1 Lifting the stay after such a prolonged delay would be procedurally unfair and prejudicial.

3.2 I rely on the decision in The Football Association Premier League Ltd v. PPLive Sports International Ltd [2022] EWHC 38 (Comm), where the court emphasized the prejudice to a defendant from delayed litigation.

3.3 The Claimant's inaction and failure to comply with procedural responsibilities has caused me significant distress and financial difficulty. 4. Prejudice to the Defendant


4.1 Lifting the stay would cause me the following unfair prejudice:

• a) Potential loss of evidence or documents due to the passage of time.
• b) Financial hardship due to unexpected litigation costs during a cost-of-living crisis.
  
  My hours at work this year has been cut much less then I had in 2022 and 2023.
• c) Emotional and psychological stress triggered by the sudden revival of the claim.
• d) My financial planning was based on the belief that this matter was dormant.
• e) I have had only hours to prepare this witness statement under significant stress, due to the Claimant’s last-minute notice.
• f) My Savings spent to keep afloat during cost of living crisis, as a result, if claim is reinstalled, I am now significantly less able to fund a proper legal defence or settle the matter , this increases a chance of a CCJ on my file. This is all due to claimant long delay.
• G) I do not agree with claimants claim for court costs that accrued when the claim was stayed, I filed my defence in good time, Its the claimants fault they didn't respond and the claim was stayed. I should not be liable to them.

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5. Claimant’s Delay and Procedural Failures


5.1 The Claimant has provided no reasonable explanation for their delay in seeking to lift the stay.

5.2 I made a formal request under CPR 18 for further information, including the credit agreement and evidence of assignment. The Claimant failed to respond adequately or at all.

5.3 I also requested the same information during the pre-action stage, they responded late after the deadline, but they did not comply with the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims, Claimant response was late pass the deadline and particularly their obligation to provide relevant documents when requested

5.4 The Claimant has not provided a valid executed credit agreement nor a deed of assignment, which are central to proving their right to enforce any alleged debt.

5.5 Any attempt by the Claimant to now submit such documents less than 14 days before the hearing would be procedurally unfair and further prejudices me.

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6. Notice and Filing Issues


6.1 I was given no formal Notice of Hearing from the court and only became aware of it today via email from the Claimant.

6.2 As such, I respectfully request that the court accepts this statement as served in time, given the lack of court notice and the short time frame caused by the Claimant’s conduct.

6.3 I am also sending this statement by Royal Mail to the Claimant tomorrow, in accordance with my previous request under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 to limit electronic contact.

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7. Reservation of Further Evidence


7.1 Due to the last-minute nature of this notification, I reserve the right to submit further evidence within the 14-day window, should it become available, and request that the court allow such submission in the interests of fairness.

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8. Conclusion


8.1 In light of the Claimant’s prolonged delay, failure to respond to procedural requests, and the prejudice caused to me, I respectfully ask the Court to refuse the application to lift the stay.

8.2 The Claimant has shown disregard for the Civil Procedure Rules and Pre-Action Protocol, and their conduct does not support the interests of justice. Statement of Truth


I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true.

[Pezza54]

Looks fine
My advice is not to send a revised WS to the court, they won't be happy
If all parties sent amended documents for filing, court delays would increase significantly

[dinky201]

send in evidence to the court? also can add to it?

[Pezza54]

Do you mean evidence that should have been included with your witness statement?

[dinky201]

yes the evidence for the WS

[Pezza54]

Send the evidence to the court. Apologise for not enclosing it with your WS
Good luck at the hearing
Let's all hope the claim isn't reinstated

[dinky201]

Thankyou Pezza, you are a good help fingers crossed.