Defendant with Own Legal Team has Not Served Defence or Directions Questionnaire

[robsmith1]

Hi, I made a claim using MCOL which the defendant has defended. I received from the court a "Defence and Counterclaim" form in which the defendant states that the detailed defence will be sent separately. A copy of the detailed defence was emailed to me by the defendant directly but was not sent in the post.

Am I correct in thinking that this means the defence was not correctly served? I have been in negotiations to reach a settlement but have not explicitly consented to service by email.

Also, I have not received a copy of the defendant's Directions Questionnaire.

The defendant is a large business with its own legal team so it's a bit surprising they haven't done this.

Do these things mean I can apply for judgement straight away? Or can I use their failings in some other way?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

Rob

[Pezza54]

Please read MCOL Guidance for Claimants
In particular the paragraphs under "Types of Response"
If the defendant has filed their defence and counterclaim online or by email, the court should send you a copy.
You should receive court instructions about filing and serving your Reply to Defence and Defence to Counterclaim
If you are an individual without legal representation your claim and the defendant's counterclaim should be transferred to your local county court.

You would have provided your email address when you used MCOL to start your claim. The court assumes the claimant is agreeable to receiving case documents by email

There is no need to file a request for judgement yet. There are currently delays at the CNBC. You could phone the MCOL helpline to find out when you are likely to receive documents from the court

[atticus]

You have acknowledged that you have received the defence. Judges do not like people who play silly buggers.

[pc52straw]

Atticus, you're right as regards the detailed defence - as it was served, so no grounds for complaining.

I think there's a fairer question around counterclaim or DQ if either/both are expected by the OP but nothing has been received by the OP.

I know someone in a similar predicament. The initial claim was served, and acknowledged, but the only other thing they've received since is a hearing date. And their worry is, what happens if there's a defence, DQ or counterclaim already sat with the court that they're unaware of. They can't respond to any document if it's only ever been shared with the court - and presumably they have a limited window to ask the court if anything new has been sent in that they should have been served.