Court hearing in 2 weeks, just received a solicitors letter?

[Neave2019]

Hi, I'm the defendant in a small claims case with the hearing due to take place in less than 3 weeks, the witness statement needs to be submitted by early next week. I have just received a solicitors letter on behalf of the claimant wishing to discuss a full and final settlement offer with me over the phone.

I believe the claim is incorrect and the amount the claimant is asking for wholly unjustified, as such I'm not prepared to make any financial settlement unless court ordered.

My question is do I have to respond to this request? It seems late to be sending this just days before the witness statements and evidence is due at the court.
Any advice appreciated? Thanks

[R0b]

Court is always a last resort and the overriding objective says that parties must consider options as to settling the matter and that must be in the minds of the parties throughout legal proceedings. Just because there's 2 weeks before a trial doesn't mean you have to refuse to consider settlement as that could be seen as unreasonable conduct. Indeed, many court cases are settled at the doorsteps of the court.*

Difficult to say why you have been contacted but a common reason might be that it is not commercially viable for them to pursue a claim to a full hearing at the additional cost and expense which is more than what they are claiming, assuming they need to instruct a barrister and the claim is allocated to the small claims track. It also could be that their case might have been weak in any event and don't want to take the risk, or that further information has come to light which could weaken their case.

You should be seen as being reasonable so if the claimant is owed something but not the amount being claimed then why aren't you prepared to offer what you think should be payable? There's no harm in having the conversation with their lawyer but bear in mind a settlement does not need to be put in writing so if you verbally agree something you will be bound by it.

I would suggest that you write back to the solicitors, tell them you are willing to discuss settlement over the phone provided that any settlement between the parties will not be legally binding unless it is agreed in writing. Give them your contact information and dates of availability and you should reasonably consider their offer but as a defendant, you should avoid agreeing to pay the legal fees, especially if this is a small claim because the claimant wouldn't ordinarily be entitled to those costs if he/she had won their case at trial.

Have a figure in mind on how much you are prepared to settle, starting low and seeing where you end up. Of course if you are only £50 or £100 out between you maximum settlment figure then you should be realistic and consider whether it's worth taking the risk and potentially paying more if you lose in court i.e. added costs of the application fees, witness attendance fees etc which would probably take you over that gap figure anyway or at least close to it.
*

[Neave2019]

Court is always a last resort and the overriding objective says that parties must consider options as to settling the matter and that must be in the minds of the parties throughout legal proceedings. Just because there's 2 weeks before a trial doesn't mean you have to refuse to consider settlement as that could be seen as unreasonable conduct. Indeed, many court cases are settled at the doorsteps of the court.

Difficult to say why you have been contacted but a common reason might be that it is not commercially viable for them to pursue a claim to a full hearing at the additional cost and expense which is more than what they are claiming, assuming they need to instruct a barrister and the claim is allocated to the small claims track. It also could be that their case might have been weak in any event and don't want to take the risk, or that further information has come to light which could weaken their case.

You should be seen as being reasonable so if the claimant is owed something but not the amount being claimed then why aren't you prepared to offer what you think should be payable? There's no harm in having the conversation with their lawyer but bear in mind a settlement does not need to be put in writing so if you verbally agree something you will be bound by it.

I would suggest that you write back to the solicitors, tell them you are willing to discuss settlement over the phone provided that any settlement between the parties will not be legally binding unless it is agreed in writing. Give them your contact information and dates of availability and you should reasonably consider their offer but as a defendant, you should avoid agreeing to pay the legal fees, especially if this is a small claim because the claimant wouldn't ordinarily be entitled to those costs if he/she had won their case at trial.

Have a figure in mind on how much you are prepared to settle, starting low and seeing where you end up. Of course if you are only £50 or £100 out between you maximum settlment figure then you should be realistic and consider whether it's worth taking the risk and potentially paying more if you lose in court i.e. added costs of the application fees, witness attendance fees etc which would probably take you over that gap figure anyway or at least close to it.

Thank you for your response, extremely helpful.