Made a County Court claim-need re assurance please.

[peter p]

I am taking a conservatory company to County Court because the floor tiles they fitted came loose and when they refitted them they:-
(A) Broke 3 replacing them with ones of a different size and colour. I am claiming damages under The Supply of goods and services act for this.
They refused to do anything more saying condensation was the cause of them coming loose and is not their fault. Since then they have ignored all my correspondence.
(B) It has now been discovered, from photographs of the construction, that a floor membrane was not fitted properly making ground moisture (the blamed condensation) the reason for the problem. The company have been informed but ignored my signed for letters.
I now have a date for a preliminary hearing so my questions are.
I have the evidence bundles ready, as the claim is complicated, would it be a good idea to let the Judge have one before the prelim hearing?
If so should I also give one to the defendant?
Is there anything I need to do to prepare for this hearing?
Why a prelim hearing, is it because of the complicated nature of the case?
If the Judge does not know much about the subject (damp proof membranes) I assume he will get an experts opinion, if so will this cost me?
I am just getting a bit panicky about this and need telling it's Ok or I have made a big mistake!
Any help, comments etc would be appreciated, thank you.

[nemesis45]

Re: Made a County Court claim-need re assurance please.

I am taking a conservatory company to County Court because the floor tiles they fitted came loose and when they refitted them they:-
(A) Broke 3 replacing them with ones of a different size and colour. I am claiming damages under The Supply of goods and services act for this.
They refused to do anything more saying condensation was the cause of them coming loose and is not their fault. Since then they have ignored all my correspondence.
(B) It has now been discovered, from photographs of the construction, that a floor membrane was not fitted properly making ground moisture (the blamed condensation) the reason for the problem. The company have been informed but ignored my signed for letters.
I now have a date for a preliminary hearing so my questions are.
I have the evidence bundles ready, as the claim is complicated, would it be a good idea to let the Judge have one before the prelim hearing?
If so should I also give one to the defendant?
Is there anything I need to do to prepare for this hearing?
Why a prelim hearing, is it because of the complicated nature of the case?
If the Judge does not know much about the subject (damp proof membranes) I assume he will get an experts opinion, if so will this cost me?
I am just getting a bit panicky about this and need telling it's Ok or I have made a big mistake!
Any help, comments etc would be appreciated, thank you.

Hi welcome to LB,

What is the value of the claim under 10 K?
Expert opinion ( a witness ) is your responsibility not the courts and at your cost.
The court should have instructed you on what is needed at the preliminary hearing
this would be on the order that such a hearing is needed.
Is the defendant represented by a solicitor?

nem

[R0b]

Re: Made a County Court claim-need re assurance please.

Just to add about the prelim hearing, it will more than likely to do with whether or not you have any case to hear, or whether it should be struck out or whether the case may need to be put on a different track or requires a specialist judge who has proper knowledge of the area of law in question. It could also mean whether or not you require to pay a deposit to continue with your claim or whether your claim was brought in time.

It is not a substantive hearing in which you put forward all of your case.

[peter p]

Re: Made a County Court claim-need re assurance please.

[QUOTE=nemesis45;598452]Hi welcome to LB,

What is the value of the claim under 10 K?
Expert opinion ( a witness ) is your responsibility not the courts and at your cost.
The court should have instructed you on what is needed at the preliminary hearing
this would be on the order that such a hearing is needed.
Is the defendant represented by a solicitor?

nem[/QUOTE]
Claim value for part (A) would be about £1,200, to re tile the floor. This would be part of claim (B) and that is estimated, if someone else does the work, at about £5,200.
In respect of an "expert" witness, what I meant was someone to advise the Judge if what I was claiming, the cause and effect of the cut of membrane, based on my evidence, was correct/factual. There is nothing to see unless the tiles are lifted out again.
The court have not asked for anything except I turn up at XYZ time for a prelim hearing, nothing more was requested/ordered.
Dont know about a Solicitor for the Defendant, he submitted his own defence and so far everything has come from him, he is the company Director/Owner.

[peter p]

Re: Made a County Court claim-need re assurance please.

Just to add about the prelim hearing, it will more than likely to do with whether or not you have any case to hear, or whether it should be struck out or whether the case may need to be put on a different track or requires a specialist judge who has proper knowledge of the area of law in question. It could also mean whether or not you require to pay a deposit to continue with your claim or whether your claim was brought in time.

It is not a substantive hearing in which you put forward all of your case.

Time wise I think we are OK, was erected in late 2011 and this problem occurred mid 2014 and has taken up to a few months ago before stalling completely.
I can't see there is no case to answer but specialist Judge would make sense. I feel my case is logical and have tried to provide as much information to prove the logic (as well as numerous trade, eg building regs, publications all describing how the membrane should be fitted) in order to prove my case but the Judge may have to consult someone to confirm this.
I hope the deposit is not required as that would be obstructive to my claim, might have to sell the car.

[R0b]

Re: Made a County Court claim-need re assurance please.

Time wise I think we are OK, was erected in late 2011 and this problem occurred mid 2014 and has taken up to a few months ago before stalling completely.
I can't see there is no case to answer but specialist Judge would make sense. I feel my case is logical and have tried to provide as much information to prove the logic (as well as numerous trade, eg building regs, publications all describing how the membrane should be fitted) in order to prove my case but the Judge may have to consult someone to confirm this.
I hope the deposit is not required as that would be obstructive to my claim, might have to sell the car.

That's not a problem, the suggestions I've made are not exhaustive but it is usually to determine something along those lines. You wouldn't normally have to pay a deposit either, I expect the judge to ask some further questions before a substantive hearing takes place.

[peter p]

Re: Made a County Court claim-need re assurance please.

That's not a problem, the suggestions I've made are not exhaustive but it is usually to determine something along those lines. You wouldn't normally have to pay a deposit either, I expect the judge to ask some further questions before a substantive hearing takes place.

Thank you for the reassurance , my bundle has quite a lot of information in it but I have added a "conclusion" section to simplify it. This just says that despite all the information, claim and counter claims etc my photographs show clearly both in 2011 and 2014 that the membrane is cut off rather than fitted as it should be and I believe this is the cause of all the problem with loose tiles and the presence of moisture that the defendant initially blamed as the cause in his letter dated December 2014.
The court have said that it would help if the judge had the bundle before the hearing, so fingers crossed.
Thank you for your help.

[peter p]

Re: Made a County Court claim-need re assurance please.

Just an update-had the preliminary hearing this afternoon, was to discuss if an expert witness would be required and the defendant requested to have one. He lost his temper with the Judge when told that he would have to pay for the expert witness (as he wanted one) and if he won the case would be able to claim up to £200, he said it was not fair and argued at some length with the Judge about it. He then went on to tell the Judge that I told him, in an e mail, to cut of the membrane-an absolute lie!!! I have requested to the Judge sight of this supposed e mail.

Question:- as this claim by him is totally untrue and the e mail does not exist, would it help my case at the court hearing (being set for two hours) to bring this up and ask then where the e mail is to substantiate the statement he made to the judge today? or do I just let it go?

[peter p]

Re: Made a County Court claim-need re assurance please.

Sorry to resurrect this thread but I am loss of what to do next, in order to finalise the case.
The experts report agreed with my claim and the defendant, on the bases of the report, has agreed to put thing right at his cost and as recommended in the report.
The case has been stayed until the 23rd of this month, and that is as far as I have got.
I think I can go back to the court and ask them to make an order out to that effect, So as the defendant cannot wriggle out of what he has agreed to do. I would then have the peace of mind that I can go back to the court if he fails either to put things right or as directed in the experts report.
He has also declined to pay my basic cost so I would also ask the court to award those in line with their guidelines, about £250 + fixed cost.

Do I just write to the court and explain the above and ask for an order to be made for the works and the costs?
Thanks in advance.