Postponing county court

[Justdamo]

Hi there,

I've searched online but can't really find a proper answer to my question.

I have a court date set for this week however until the start of the week I was unsure if i had received funding to pay the fees and therefore my presumption was it wasn't going ahead.

I have absolutely no time to submit the rest of my evidence as this needs to be done 7-14 dates in advance of the court date.

Is it possible to apply to the court to have this postponed and if so how?

thanks in advance for your help

[Diana M]

Re: Postponing county court

From what you say you'll be seeking an adjournment of the hearing.

You can either agree this with the other party and file a Consent Order to that effect, or you'll have to make a formal application to the court.

Since this will be a short notice application (you say the hearing is this week so possibly in the next 48 hours) it's likely that you'll still have to attend the hearing as listed and ask the DJ to consider your application at the start of the hearing. The other side will have the opportunity to contest your application.

Are you the Claimant or the Defendant?

What is the claim for?

How much is the claim (is it in the Small Claims Court or Fast Track)?

When you say you need to raise funding, are you waiting for the outcome of a Legal Aid application or do you mean you need to raise funding to pay a solicitor or barrister to represent you?

Or when you say you need funding to pay the fees do you mean the court hearing fee? If so and that's not been paid then the court make strike out your claim (if you are the Claimant).

A little more background would help

Di

[Diana M]

Re: Postponing county court

Is the hearing in connection with this other thread of yours >

http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...956#post661956

Di

[Justdamo]

Re: Postponing county court

Hi Yes it is.

Frustratingly I've now found out the hearing was this morning so I'm too late anyway.

On filling in the form asking for help with court fees the document stated that the case would possibly be delayed so as i hadn't heard anything back i presumed it had when in fact it hadn't.

so it looks like the other side will have won and i now owe them money instead of them owing me

[Diana M]

Re: Postponing county court

I've now found out the hearing was this morning so I'm too late anyway.

On filling in the form asking for help with court fees the document stated that the case would possibly be delayed so as i hadn't heard anything back i presumed it had when in fact it hadn't.

so it looks like the other side will have won and i now owe them money

Don't give up just yet.

Call the court to find out what happened this morning in court.

If your claim was dismissed because you were not in court then you may be able to apply to get that decision unwound if you've got evidence that you had already made your application for fee remission and believed that the hearing would be delayed (adjourned) while your application was being considered.

It might be worth a try

Did you file your WS and evidence 14 days before the hearing so at least the court would have been able to rely on that when making its decison?

Di

[Justdamo]

Re: Postponing county court

When i phoned the court earlier and they advised me the hearing was this morning they told me to come in and see what could be done so i did however once there they said there wasn't anything they could do and that i should wait for the outcome via post.

Some evidence and particulars of claim had already been received by the other side (and the court) and the other party had offered to settle earlier in the case (for a much smaller amount than being asked) but think that'll be it as my luck is terrible.

[Diana M]

Re: Postponing county court

Some evidence and particulars of claim had already been received by the other side (and the court) and the other party had offered to settle earlier in the case (for a much smaller amount than being asked).

Did the Defendant file a Defence and WS (I'm guessing they did file the Defence otherwise you could have got a Default Judgment)?

How did they make their offer to settle? Was it a letter headed "Without Prejudice Save As To Costs" and/or were you able to include that with your WS and evidence to the court?

Were they represented by solicitors from the start?

How much were you claiming and how much did they offer to pay you in settlement?

Di

[Justdamo]

Re: Postponing county court

Did the Defendant file a Defence and WS (I'm guessing they did file the Defence otherwise you could have got a Default Judgment)?

Yes they filed a defence and then the offer almost immediately after.

How did they make their offer to settle? Was it a letter headed "Without Prejudice Save As To Costs" and/or were you able to include that with your WS and evidence to the court?

It was sent as a letter headed "Without Prejudice Save As To Costs" as this came after the initial evidence was submitted i didn't submit this to the court as I wasn't sure if i needed to or not.

I responded to their offer with a counter offer of £2000 (original claim was for £3000 and they'd offered £500) and waited to hear back from them which never happened even after sending a second letter/email chasing it up.

Were they represented by solicitors from the start?i

Yes they were.