Biased County Court Judgement

[stevemLS]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

It is the one dated 24th September that I was looking for.

[Esb]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

It is the one dated 24th September that I was looking for.

See above attachment, it's dated November in the top right hand corner and dated September in the bottom left hand corner, it's the one you're looking for.

[Esb]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

My bad Steve, here is the 1st part of the 25 September order. Does this help?

[Kati]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

My bad Steve, here is the 1st part of the 25 September order. Does this help?

[MENTION=48758]stevemLS[/MENTION]

[stevemLS]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

Yes it makes sense now, the November one referred to paragraph 2 yet started at paragraph 3.

However, in my view, your amended POC fails to address paras 2 (a), (b) and (c).

What the court was looking for was for you to identify precisely what it was you said on the facts which relate to harassment or victimisation, as defined within the Act and you POC simply doesn't do it. You should also, as ordered, have addressed paras 11-20 of the defence, by number or groups of paragraphs and again this is entirely absent.

Whilst I spent 45 minutes reading it last night the judge wanted a more succinct document which precisely identified the points of law upon which you relied AND then related the facts pleaded to those legal points.

With regard to your general points about the legal system I agree that the recent restrictions on public funding are scandalous, I very much doubt whether you would have got legal aid for this case in any event. However, in my experience judges bend over backwards to assist litigants in person - indeed in your own case, it appears to me that the court has been more than fair to you. It has identified failings in your pleadings and given you the opportunity to amend them, it has made two if not three Unless Orders. You have had the chance to amend your POC with the benefit of having sight of the defence, which is a rare beast as far as I know.

So, far from being biased, it seems to me that the court has been scrupulously fair.

Whilst I know it is not what you want to hear, I see no grounds for applying to have the strike out varied or set aside, sorry.

[Esb]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

The strike out order doesn't say that I didn't comply with the issue regarding paragraph 11-20, therefore it's fair to assume that I did.

Again, the query was, taking the unless order and the strike out order together, does the latter relate to the former? The strike out is striking out for reasons not set out on the unless order.

Knowing how to format a particulars of claim document seems to be the issue here, i.e. it's a matter of form rather than substance. I would not have known this had you not spelled it out, and you would not have known this had you not undertaken legal professional theory and practice exams, correct? That in itself suggests a court bias in favour of technical experts, and a prejudice against those who aren't, which includes myself. The Judge is required to consider ALL of the circumstances, he's not to be so selective, as I understand it.

As you know, such templates are not freely available you can't google such a template, you have to go to a legal professional and pay to obtain the advice. if I could afford to do that, I wouldn't have applied for legal funding. With no access to legal advice beyond the merits of the case, such a technocratic approach from the judge renders the civil justice system a preserve of the privileged few, rather than a right for each citizen to enforce through the courts. If this is the case, that our constitution has changed in this way, then it should be made clear, rather than left for individuals like myself to find out at considerable financial and other expense to myself. Why isn't this a reasonable argument for setting aside/revoke? That aside, thanks, there are several points that you have not considered, can you please give your view on the merits of the attached Application? Thanks

[stevemLS]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

I disagree that the reasons given for the strike out are unrelated to the September Order.

Your Application is well drafted but in my opinion there is nothing in there which would justify the court setting aside the strike out.

You are plainly an intelligent woman and I fear this is one of those intractable cases where nothing anyone else says will dissuade you.

However, I have given my best advice and really have nothing more to offer.

[Esb]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

Thanks for your view. Does it outrage you that it doesn't matter how intelligent a claimant is, clearly:tinysmile_grin_t: if you're not a qualified legal professional you can't access justice..? I hope it does and that you will bear this in mind going forward.

Thanks for your time and contributions. P.s. my friend the Cambridge law graduate drafted the application so she gets the lions share of the credit for being intelligent. Can you see how it's a legal practice issue that you can see, that we can't see because we're not legal professionals? It well be a valid issue, but such issues should not be brought to bear on non legal professional litigants in person, and should not be used to block a that person's access to justice. Also, the Judge relied on the defence in drafting the strike out, which he shouldn't have done if the particulars didn't comply as permission to serve a defence was only granted on condition I served a poc that complied with his earlier direction. They served it anyway, the judge said he considered it in his order, and he then used it's contents and their solicitor's covering letter as justification for striking out.

The covering letter contained 2 sentences saying my claim should be struck out, just as my covering letter contained a sentence saying their defence should be struck out. You said mine didn't count as an application, so I'm wondering why there's did count, and even if it made no difference to the outcome, why was their defence considered when none of the substantive merits and facts of my claim were not.

To a lay person it still seems procedurally biased in favour of the experts and prejudiced against the non-experts, which again, is not what the justice system is supposed to be about. Access to justice is the right of every British citizen, or at least it was under Labour. If anything it's a misrepresentation that could easily be addressed by the justice system admitting the truth from the outset about where we've got to with legal process. . Thanks again.

[stevemLS]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

I agree that access to justice should be equal for all, but we all know it isn't nor has it ever been.

It has always been the case that the articulate middle classes (with sharp elbows) get what their entitled to and sometimes more, this doesn't only apply to justice.

And yes, I am qualified.

I meant to add to previous post a warning about costs, no doubt there will already be a significant bill, if you lodge your Application and it is dismissed, you will also be liable for their costs in opposing it, which they undoubtedly will.

I hope you are able to resolve your issues but do not think litigation is the answer. Have you tried mediation with the Housing Association - sometimes it can work wonders.

[Amethyst]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

It drives me completely bananas and frustrates hell out of me. Have a google of Access to Justice campaign and get involved and support where you can, even if it doesn't help you in your immediate case you could help make a difference for others going forward xxxx

[Esb]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

ok, didn't realise that, ouch. This HA is extremely crooked, it demoted the main harasser and then gave him a flat in the block where I live and made him 'responsible tenant' responsible for attending in medical emergencies in the evenings and weekends.

The HA will NOT get rid of him, for some reason. Currently he's harassing us with the lights, sounds odd and trivial I know, but he's switching them on every time we switch them off and leaving the toilet door open in reception, sometimes up to 8 or 9 times a day. It drives the elderly tenants to the point of distraction. One elderly person has indirectly died as a result of his other intimidatory tactics and another 94 year old almost died.

The landlord frequently invokes anti-social behaviour orders against those who complain of harassment but does nothing if the complaint is about a member of staff. Her last victim was an 80 something year old, and she set the solicitors on a 93 year old (who'd survived the nazis). They will not get rid of this warden. The landlord receives money from the council for "support services" and boasts having received £18m in social housing grants, but nobody here receives anywhere near the full gamut of support they're entitled to as per their tenancy, since I've complained I don't receive any as they won't conduct the discussions about what support I can receive, in writing. All are rigorously discouraged from seeking support being told "we don't provide care here" even though I've seen a scheme manager's job application form stating exactly the contrary. Some of the flats here haven't been modernised in 20 years and tenants who ask are told "when you move out". I wrote to Panorama about it a while ago but they haven't come back to me.

You might recall there was a case in the news last year about an elderly tenant in similar housing who's body was only discovered when it had decomposed sufficient for his remains to seep through the ceiling into the flat below. The landlord of that HA said "he signed a piece of paper saying he didn't want support". Support in this context is 'a knock at the door regularly by way of a welfare check'. Even if that tenant really did say he didn't want support, that landlord would have been receiving a per capita monthly payment for several support services on behalf of his tenancy, as with mine. Where is that money going..? That could easily happen here too.

None of the flats have the capacity of a shower due to the antiquated water system. We're not sure where the money is going, but we can guess.. the landlord and the housing manager personally defended in writing the "right" of the ex-warden now 'responsible tenant' to display his apartheid police service memorabilia in the common office, in no uncertain terms, but was quick to remove the EDL flag he'd erected at the top of the building when the football was on. The council advised not to bother with mediation because the ex-warden and his boss had already made their views clear and it would have meant having to face him alone after he'd told me "apartheid wasn't racist it was legal".

The government has permanently blocked other previously existing avenues and our MP doesn't seem to want to rock the boat. There's no transparency around her interventions if there have been any and councillor's don't reply once they know what it's concerning. There have been some changes recently though, after I'd brought it to the attention of the Judge and our MP that my support plan had been completed and signed by the warden without my knowledge, thus depriving me of the knowledge of and support I could expect, and after an elderly tenant discovered the same had happened to him (most tenants here don't realise they're entitled to support which is paid for per capita by the council) the landlord is now asking us to express in writing whether or not we want support, with a slant on us not receiving it, and leaving it to us to individually arrange an appointment to discuss it in our homes with a member of staff, and ensure the forms are handed back. The average age here is at least 75. They're also now offering £5 to every tenant who completes a tenant satisfaction survey! Bet they bank the £5 for interest purposes instead of paying it out, but it still has the appearance of a bribe or a sweetener probably only payable if we say nice things.

The landlord has also re-branded, and their paperwork now makes it clear they are a Cooperative Society for the benefit of the community - as well as a ltd company and a charity. The former gives them various mundane administrative obligations which if not complied with are subject to summary conviction at the magistrates court. We all know HA are too big to fail though.

Also, the anti-social behaviour policy has been updated to invoke local authority and police intervention at stage 2, instead of never, so the landlord is getting round it by refusing to accept subsequent complaints as "formal" complaints. I will do everything I can to put things right here. It shouldn't be that elderly people and other vulnerable people either through chronic illness or disability, should have to live in fear and under intimidation imposed by a tax payer funded 'social' landlord.

You wouldn't believe it probably, but the chairman was actually a secret millionaire on tv, tasked with identifying vulnerable minorities to benefit from his philanthropy.

[Esb]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

will take a look now..

[wales01man]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

Is this a Housing Association? a rather largeone

[Esb]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

It is a HA, though not sure how large, it has various blocks in different areas so I guess it is large.

[Esb]

Re: Biased County Court Judgement

Wow! BREAKING NEWS! A certain chief executive has just announced their resignation, so whether or not my application to set aside or vary or revoke the strike out order succeeds, the likelihood of the issues complained of ever re-curring are fast diminishing as we speak