Cam Chain snapped on new van after 20 months / 114k miles

[Frank1]

Under 5 after "Mr xxxxxx to be appointed by the Defendants as the Single Joint Expert " (this sentence needs amending in post 494)
add Amend the dates in 8.3, 8 3 (i) and (ii) of the order dated 16 March 2026 caused by the delay in the appointment of the expert. Actual dates to be agreed at the hearing.

[WhiteVanMan5]

.Deleted for confidentiality

[WhiteVanMan5]

For the record, nothing came through from the defendants before (or after) the deadline of 4pm today.

[Frank1]

Yes I agree with your email completely.

As the contents of the tomlin order regarding settlement are likely to be confidential you should ask Legal Beagles to delete your post 497.

If you don't post again we'll assume your claim has been settled and congratulate you. All your hard work and perseverance would have been worthwhile

[Frank1]

If needs be you could file and serve your application, just don't pay the court fee whilst settlement documents are ongoing.

[WhiteVanMan5]

Yes I agree with your email completely.

As the contents of the tomlin order regarding settlement are likely to be confidential you should ask Legal Beagles to delete your post 497.

If you don't post again we'll assume your claim has been settled and congratulate you. All your hard work and perseverance would have been worthwhile

I have deleted the text.

What is it that makes it confidential?

[WhiteVanMan5]

Does confidentiality cause a problem copying in the bank (Defendant) to my response?

[Frank1]

No. The bank's solicitor will probably draft the tomlin order for you to sign. This should be possible by 4pm tomorrow.
It will mean you are at home tomorrow to print and sign it, photo or scan it and email it back.
The solicitor can then file it with the court paying the fee, copying you into the email to the court.

[WhiteVanMan5]

No. The bank's solicitor will probably draft the tomlin order for you to sign. This should be possible by 4pm tomorrow.
It will mean you are at home tomorrow to print and sign it, photo or scan it and email it back.
The solicitor can then file it with the court paying the fee, copying you into the email to the court.

I got home tonight and I've booked the day off tomorrow.

I will send the email now.

[WhiteVanMan5]

Yes I agree with your email completely.

As the contents of the tomlin order regarding settlement are likely to be confidential you should ask Legal Beagles to delete your post 497.

If you don't post again we'll assume your claim has been settled and congratulate you. All your hard work and perseverance would have been worthwhile

Ok, I think I should respond quickly to the "if I don't post again" - a huge thanks to everyone that got me to this point, especially you Frank1 , none of this would have been possible without your assistance. I am hugely thankful.

I suspect I will be starting a new thread in a month or two in relation to my second vehicle (the Peugeot Partner that had a very similar problem). Though hopefully it won't be defended quite as vigorously given this outcome!

[AGreen8]

Hi, congratulations on winning your case.
It is a shame that Stellantis managed to keep the case a secret, otherwise I would have started my own case for an identical issue.
Anyway, if you do open a new case, it would be appreciated if you could add a link on here such that we can follow you.
Good luck with case #2

[WhiteVanMan5]

No. The bank's solicitor will probably draft the tomlin order for you to sign. This should be possible by 4pm tomorrow.
It will mean you are at home tomorrow to print and sign it, photo or scan it and email it back.
The solicitor can then file it with the court paying the fee, copying you into the email to the court.

The way it unfolded was that on 25th June all 3 parties agreed that I should have a 28 day extension until 22nd July of paragraph 8.2 of the court order - that is my application to the court if no expert witness was agreed.

The defendant filed a notification of this for the court record.

No other deadlines have been amended, so the schedule as it stands is:

4pm 22nd July 2026 Apply to court if no SJE appointed
22nd July 2026 Signed statements must be served
22nd July 2026 Expert will report
5 August 2026 Parties may put written questions to the expert
19 August 2026 Expert will reply to the questions
19 August 2026 Claimant to pay trial fee
19 August 2026 Up to date Schedule of Loss to be served
2nd September 2026 Defendants must serve any challenge
From 10th November 2026 Trial to be scheduled
Between 3 and 7 days before trial, defendant to file bundle of documents

The 22nd July is looking "complicated" if the agreement were to fall through for any reason.

The defendant said that they would liaise with the part 20 defendant to progress the matter and be in touch as soon as possible. This was on 25th June. I haven't heard anything since.

At what point should I start to worry about time and chase up?

[Frank1]

What happened to the tomlin order?
Has the defendant just given themselves extra time to find a SJE?
If you were ready to make your application with your witness statement, why did you agree to the extra time?
Your main witness statement, a lengthy document in your case, now has to be served at the same time, 22 July, as your application is filed and served. You have to obtain court permission to rely on your engineer's report at the trial.
Have the skeleton arguments been omitted from the schedule?

[WhiteVanMan5]

This was sent to me on the morning of the 25th June by the defendant:

"May I propose that we agree to a 28 day extension to the relevant deadline, which can be agreed without the need for any party to incur an application fee. This will then allow time for the parties to agree the wording of any settlement agreement."

Both myself and the Part 20 defendant agreed to it.

That afternoon, the defendant sent this to the court:

"Dear Court Manager

Claim number: *******
Claimant: *****
Defendant / Part 20 Claimant: *******
Part 20 Defendant: ******

We continue to act on behalf of ***** Bank UK PLC, the Defendant and Part 20 Claimant in the above claim.

Pursuant to the Court Order dated 5 June 2026, paragraph 8.2, the deadline for the parties to agree and instruct a joint expert was 4pm on 24 June 2026 and the Claimant is required to apply to the Court by 4pm on 25 June 2026 for further directions.

We write to notify the Court that the parties have agreed an extension of time of 28 days for compliance with paragraph 8.2, the new deadline being 4pm on 22 July 2026. The reason for the extension is that the parties are engaged in without prejudice settlement negotiations and a settlement agreement is currently being finalised.

The parties will notify the Court promptly upon settlement being achieved, in accordance with paragraph 15 of the Order.

We can confirm the Claimant and Part 20 Defendant are copied in by way of service.

We would be grateful if a copy of this email could be kept on the Court file."

I hadn't clicked that it also gave them an extra 28 days to find a SJE.

Have I been "ambushed"?

With respect to the "skeleton arguments" - it seemed voluntary - is that something I should concern myself with (assuming things proceed)? The deadline for that is simply "before trial"

[WhiteVanMan5]

I presume, in the scenario that everything isn't settled, then I would apply to the court for the entire schedule to be put back 28 days?