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

[WhiteVanMan5]

Application by the Claimant for Further Directions (Expert Evidence)

Please find enclosed a completed Form N244 Application Notice, submitted by the Claimant (a Litigant in Person), alongside the full supporting exhibit bundle. 1. Justification for Early Submission

Under the Court Order dated 26 March 2026 (amended 5 June 2026), the parties were directed to jointly agree expert instructions by 4:00pm on Wednesday 24 June 2026, failing which the Claimant must submit an application for further directions by 4:00pm on Thursday 25 June 2026.

A total of 88 days have now passed since that initial Order was made, and both Defendants have maintained total silence. They have completely failed to engage, provide draft instructions, or respond to the Claimant’s proactive written proposals.

The Claimant is posting this application today, 22 June 2026, ahead of those deadlines for two critical reasons:

1. Even if the Defendants were to break their silence in the remaining 48 hours before Wednesday's cut-off, it is now procedurally impossible for the parties to meaningfully negotiate, draft joint instructions, and file an agreed order on time.
2. As a self-employed commercial courier frequently working away on the road, the Claimant cannot logistically manage or dispatch a 50+ page physical exhibit bundle while operating a commercial vehicle later in the week. Posting the hard copy today is the only way to guarantee it safely reaches the court file before the Thursday 4:00pm deadline.

2. Request for an In-Person Hearing & Time Estimate

The Claimant respectfully requests that this application be listed for a 1-hour in-person hearing at the County Court at Lewes. The Claimant is local to the Lewes area and believes an oral hearing is necessary to resolve the progression of expert evidence. 3. Claimant’s Availability (Next 6 Weeks)

The Claimant confirms he has no unavailable dates over the next 6 weeks. As a commercial driver, he can flexibly rearrange his commitments and will attend Lewes County Court at any short notice the Court requires. 4. Payment of the Application Fee

The Claimant is prepared to satisfy the application fee immediately to ensure the application is issued today. Upon receipt of this application, please contact me immediately on [Insert Your Phone Number] to take debit card details over the telephone, or email a secure digital payment link to [Insert Your Email]. 5. Concurrent Service on the Defendants

Identical hard copies of this N244 Application and the full 50+ page supporting exhibit bundle are being served concurrently on both the First Defendant's solicitors and the Part 20 Defendant via Royal Mail post today.

Enclosures:

1. Completed and signed Form N244 Application Notice (including Section 10 Statement).
2. Exhibit Bundle (comprising documents: Court Order 1 & 2, DOC16, DOC17, DOC30, 20260531 Email, and Bulic v Harwoods Case Precedent).

[WhiteVanMan5]

(Formatting a bit messed up in that post above, plus things like "insert email here" - obviously all of that will be sorted out)

[WhiteVanMan5]

Ok, I'm printing and everything comes in at only 34 pages. (Insert facepalm emoji). I'm starting to get really annoyed with myself (I feel like I'm getting a bit overwhelmed with it all!)

Back to Plan A - submit by email either on Wednesday Night or Thursday morning

[Frank1]

Are you submitting a witness statement and have you included the engineer's reports?

[Naoko]

Note PD 23A

7.4 Evidence must be filed with the court as well as served on the parties. Exhibits to witness statements should not be filed unless the court directs otherwise.

https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/pr...d_part23a#evid

[Frank1]

7.4 makes it very confusing.
OP has documentary evidence such as relevant correspondence and the engineer's reports .
Am I correct in thinking that these documents should be included in the application as evidence along with OP's witness statement?
Or should they just be listed in box 10 with a brief description provided without a complete copy of the document attached to the application?

[Frank1]

Naoko Thanks your urgent advice to post 486 would be much appreciated by OP.
If he doesn't have to enclose full copies of supporting documents with his application he will have less than 50 pages and should be able to email the application.

[Frank1]

WhiteVanMan5 I think I may have provided incorrect advice about your application.
PD 23A 7.4 states exhibits should not be filed with the application. You should wait until the court directs you to file and/or exchange documents.
My advice is now to:
make what you had written in box 10 under Evidence your witness statement and list the documents you intend to rely on at the application hearing in box 10.
As there is no need to include full copies of documents you should be able to email your application this Thursday.

[Naoko]

It depends on how the application is drafted.

Section 10 of the N244 form asks what information you will rely on in support of the application. Anything mentioned in Section 10 is evidence and should be filed with the court. If you mention a document in Section 10, file it.

If a document is referenced in the witness statement, it becomes an exhibit and does not need to be filed. However, the exhibit bundle should still be served on the defendants, although with less urgency. Given OP’s circumstances, serving it to the dependants after returning from the business trip should be fine. The exhibit bundle should also be taken to the hearing.

I would just tick “the attached witness statement” in Section 10 and file the witness statement only. Alternatively, if any documents are especially important in their own right, such as an expert report, they could be listed in Section 10 and filed together with the application.

[Frank1]

Thanks Naoko.
WhiteVanMan5 So just list the engineer's reports in box 10 and attach a copy with your application.
Don't forget to amend your covering email to the court.

[WhiteVanMan5]

Can I start with huge thanks to Frank1 and Naoko. I really appreciate the input from both of you.

I'm not home tonight (currently in a McDonalds - so just a brief catch up at this stage).

To clarify - the original version with all attachments came in at 34 pages - so it was good for email submission. (I had just assumed it was over 50 pages until I started printing it off).

I confess I'm getting a bit confused about the Witness Statement. The Witness Statement is due by 22nd July. Why would I submit it now? I understand I need to evidence my N244, but that is a lot more narrow isn't it?

I think I understand the difference between evidence and exhibits. I presume it is accurate to say I currently have no exhibits because I don't currently have a witness statement?

Broadly, we now think the latest question 10 text is ok and there is no external text to add? (aside evidence attachments).

So Engineers report should definitely be attached as evidence.
The email I sent on 31st May offering a path forward (that was ignored) should also be added?
Court order I'm guessing doesn't need to be added - everyone already has that.
The documents exchanged with the defendants, but not shared with the court - Docs 16 and 17 - should also be added (the defendants request for my expert report to be commissioned and my email telling them the expert I had selected.) We have already said we should add Doc 30 (the second expert report)

What about the Bulic case transcript - should I still add that?

[Frank1]

Your witness statement for your application is different to your main witness statement that has to be drafted in July.

What you wrote in box 10 in chronological order can be your witness statement in support of your application.

Then in box 10 under evidence include the engineer's reports and your latest email to the defendants that they haven't replied to. You could provide brief details about these documents and attach them to the covering email.

Don't forget a statement of truth at the end of your WS and amend your covering email regarding attachments.

[Frank1]

Yes definitely include the Bulic case. Brief details in your witness statement and if you want to add part transcript include this in the evidence box

[Frank1]

Copilot drafted
WITNESS STATEMENT OF [CLAIMANT'S NAME]
IN SUPPORT OF THE CLAIMANT'S APPLICATION DATED XXXXX

I [claimant's name] of [address] will say as follows:

1. Introduction

2. Background to the Claim

3. Reason for the Application

4. Evidence Supporting the Application

5. What I Am Asking the Court to Do

I respectfully ask the Court to make the following order(s):

Mr xxxx be appointed as the Single Joint Expert.

Alternatively The Claimant shall be granted permission to rely on the expert report of Mr xxxx dated xxxx at the trial.

The Defendants shall pay the court fee for this Application as they failed to engage in correspondence with the Claimant regarding the appointment of the Single Joint Expert by 24 June 2026, the date stated in court directions.

6. Statement of Truth

[Frank1]

I meant to add
paragraphs under the headings are consecutively numbered.

Under Evidence Supporting the Application include your chronology of events relevant to the application referring to emails, the reports etc. Also provide details of the Bulic case and state if you are not allowed to rely on Mr xxxx's report in court it will be unfair as the report is critical to prove your case.