Particulars of Claim - any templates?

[SunbeamFan]

Hi All,

I'm starting an action and to try and contain my costs I have engaged a Barrister under the Direct Access arrangement.

I have already sent a Letter Before Action and a Without Prejudice Offer of Settlement, the other party rejected the allegations and rejected the settlement offer.

Having spoken to my chosen Barrister he has suggested that I before I "press the button" using Money Claim Online that I send a further Letter Before Action setting out the details of my claim and the amounts I intend to claim. This is because the first Letter Before Action was sent before the full claim value was calculated and only included the Heads of Claim.

However, he has suggested that I set out the letter content in the format of "Particulars of Claim" which would effectively be replicated in my actual claim submission to the Court.

My question is, can anyone provide advice on what should specifically be included in the Particulars of Claim and in what order or format along with any other tips to make it an effective document? Or, are there any templates available anywhere that I could use and fill in the blanks?

Many thanks for any help.

[R0b]

Hello

There are certain formalities required for Particulars of Claim and in particular, they have to be numbered paragraphs consecutively so I suspect this is what the barrister was alluding to. It's also helpful to have headings for each section e.g. the parties, factual background, the contract, breach of contract, remedies etc.

You've not specificed what exactly you are claiming for so it's a bit difficult to give you any pointers other than the basics. If you can enlighten us with some background to your dispute maybe we can assist further.

[SunbeamFan]

Hello

There are certain formalities required for Particulars of Claim and in particular, they have to be numbered paragraphs consecutively so I suspect this is what the barrister was alluding to. It's also helpful to have headings for each section e.g. the parties, factual background, the contract, breach of contract, remedies etc.

You've not specificed what exactly you are claiming for so it's a bit difficult to give you any pointers other than the basics. If you can enlighten us with some background to your dispute maybe we can assist further.

Hi Rob,

Essentially I'm claiming for breach of contract where I employed someone to do a certain job and they did it to a very poor standard such that it has to be re-done, they have overcharged for the work and have also applied charges that their own terms say they were not entitled to charge but they forced me to pay them before I could collect my property. This all relates to work carried out on a vehicle.

Hope that helps, any specific advise would be much appreciated.

[R0b]

Its a matter of style as to whether you number your letter before action and is not usually warranted except for certain types of claims but generally not for debt. Perhaps the barrister is trying to just make things easier for you when you come to issuing your claim you can practically copy and paste almost.

Are you able to upload a redacted copy of your initial letter before action so we can see what was written last time?

In terms of numbering your letter before action, a basic skeleton outline would be something like the following:

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1. Summary of claim

Give a short 3 or 4 line overview of the claim.

2. The parties

Presumably there is only one person involved in the dispute so you would simply state that here. If there are other persons you are potentially seeking to claim against then you mention that here too.

3. Relevant facts (sometimes referred to as background or factual background)

3.1 [Each sub-paragraph should be kept short and only one point per paragraph]

3.2 [As above]

3.3 [As above]

4. The contract and its terms

4.1 [Here you set out any key terms you are relying on as part of your claim]

5. Relevant facts (also referred to as background or factual background)

5.1 [Here you set out the facts of the case. Keep the sub-paragraphs relatively short, no one wants to read long paragraphs]

5. Breach of contract

5.1 [In this section you explain how the person(s) has breach the contract]

5.2 [As above]

6. Loss and damage

6.1 [You explain here the loss and damage. Ideally you need to itemise the loss or damage - see example below.]

6.2 The losses incurred are as follows:

6.2.1 [Travel]

6.2.2 [Expert report]

6.2.3 [Fuel costs]

7. Documents enclosed

7.1[List any documents you enclose which you are going to rely on in court]

8. Action required

8.1 [Here you set out the resolution you are seeking i.e. payment of the above sums by X date by cheque/bank transfer]


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As mentioned, the above is just a bare bones outline but you will need to fill in the gaps. You probably want to make reference to your previous letter before action but after further review, you have discovered further losses that were not previously mentioned. You have therefore set out in full the losses you are seeking to recover.

Does that help?

[Chezz]

Hello

[SunbeamFan]

Its a matter of style as to whether you number your letter before action and is not usually warranted except for certain types of claims but generally not for debt. Perhaps the barrister is trying to just make things easier for you when you come to issuing your claim you can practically copy and paste almost.

Are you able to upload a redacted copy of your initial letter before action so we can see what was written last time?

In terms of numbering your letter before action, a basic skeleton outline would be something like the following:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Summary of claim

Give a short 3 or 4 line overview of the claim.

2. The parties

Presumably there is only one person involved in the dispute so you would simply state that here. If there are other persons you are potentially seeking to claim against then you mention that here too.

3. Relevant facts (sometimes referred to as background or factual background)

3.1 [Each sub-paragraph should be kept short and only one point per paragraph]

3.2 [As above]

3.3 [As above]

4. The contract and its terms

4.1 [Here you set out any key terms you are relying on as part of your claim]

5. Relevant facts (also referred to as background or factual background)

5.1 [Here you set out the facts of the case. Keep the sub-paragraphs relatively short, no one wants to read long paragraphs]

5. Breach of contract

5.1 [In this section you explain how the person(s) has breach the contract]

5.2 [As above]

6. Loss and damage

6.1 [You explain here the loss and damage. Ideally you need to itemise the loss or damage - see example below.]

6.2 The losses incurred are as follows:

6.2.1 [Travel]

6.2.2 [Expert report]

6.2.3 [Fuel costs]

7. Documents enclosed

7.1[List any documents you enclose which you are going to rely on in court]

8. Action required

8.1 [Here you set out the resolution you are seeking i.e. payment of the above sums by X date by cheque/bank transfer]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

As mentioned, the above is just a bare bones outline but you will need to fill in the gaps. You probably want to make reference to your previous letter before action but after further review, you have discovered further losses that were not previously mentioned. You have therefore set out in full the losses you are seeking to recover.

Does that help?

Hi Rob,

That's great thank you and that's exactly what the Barrister said, which is for me to set out the LBA in such a way that I can virtually cut & paste into the Court claim document.

Sorry it's taken a while to reply, it's that time of year but I have created a structure in this format which I am now tweaking. I'll go and put one more detail of my case in the appropriate forum section as there are some more bits I could do with some advice on.

Hope to chat with you some more.

SF