CCJ Against a Builder

[R0b]

What date did the Court order him to send the transcript to you?

So does the order require you to prepare a skeleton argument - does it say anything else?

Did you do a skeleton argument for your appeal?

[R0b]

Also to add, did you file any grounds of appeal?

Lots of unanswered questions and until we get the full story of what you have and haven't done, very difficult to assist you.

Have you seen any documentation regarding his appeal and what grounds he is appealing?

[MrsF65]

Also to add, did you file any grounds of appeal?

Lots of unanswered questions and until we get the full story of what you have and haven't done, very difficult to assist you.

Have you seen any documentation regarding his appeal and what grounds he is appealing?

Thanks Rob.

The court ordered on 19th July 2018 he send the transcript to me "as soon as practicable.

I have received his latest appeal saying I should have sued the company not him. That is his appeal as far as it goes but he cannot provide any evidence to support this claim. At the first hearing he failed to attend and sent his daughter in law and the judge told her if he is not the defendant he needs to amend this but at present it is proceeding as pleaded. He never amended this or suggested otherwise until judgement was awarded in my favour.

He even applied for judgement in his own name albeit wrongly.

I paid him into his own personal bank account - he will not provide receipts or statements. I also paid him some cash which he wont provide receipts for.

He has no supporting evidence there is no contract between myself and a company.

He has failed to turn up to the final hearing and now decides he is not the defendant.

To be honest I am absolutely flabbergasted he has appealed the dismissal of his first appeal but that's they way it is and I would be grateful for any advice regarding preparing a skeleton argument.

With regard to submitting the skeleton argument and trial bundle I am not sure whether I have to send documents from the outset of the proceedings or just since judgement was made and his subsequent appeals.

[MrsF65]

Sorry Rob just to add. This is not an appeal hearing it is a hearing for permission to appeal and from my research permission will only be granted if the judge who heard the original appeal has made an error in judgement and not just because the defendant is unhappy at the outcome.

[pt2537]

Thank you and sorry for the long paragraph.

The first appeal was 26th March 2018 which was dismissed. He has now made a second appeal against the dismissal to the Central London County Court (which is at the Court of Appeal) and this is listed for 3rd January 2019.

An Order was issued on 19th July 2018 for him to provide a transcript of the appeal hearing of 26th March 2018 and send this to me. He has not done this. I have now requested this on a monthly basis but have not received any response.

Today I called the Court and they have suggested that I write in to ask for the Appeal for 3rd January 2018 to be struck out - BUT - they are taking 31 days to deal with any correspondence.

I will prepare a skeleton argument but just not sure what I need to put in it. Should it just deal with the case since appeal or back to the beginning of the original claim?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

OOOOOH lovely i love a second appeal.

Has this guy complied with CPR 52? if he hasnt then hes toast.

[pt2537]

Thanks Rob.

The court ordered on 19th July 2018 he send the transcript to me "as soon as practicable.

I have received his latest appeal saying I should have sued the company not him. That is his appeal as far as it goes but he cannot provide any evidence to support this claim. At the first hearing he failed to attend and sent his daughter in law and the judge told her if he is not the defendant he needs to amend this but at present it is proceeding as pleaded. He never amended this or suggested otherwise until judgement was awarded in my favour.

He even applied for judgement in his own name albeit wrongly.

I paid him into his own personal bank account - he will not provide receipts or statements. I also paid him some cash which he wont provide receipts for.

He has no supporting evidence there is no contract between myself and a company.

He has failed to turn up to the final hearing and now decides he is not the defendant.

To be honest I am absolutely flabbergasted he has appealed the dismissal of his first appeal but that's they way it is and I would be grateful for any advice regarding preparing a skeleton argument.

With regard to submitting the skeleton argument and trial bundle I am not sure whether I have to send documents from the outset of the proceedings or just since judgement was made and his subsequent appeals.

Second appeals are much much harder. He isnt going to get the Court to deal with anything that wasnt before the Court last time out, new points generally dont get off the ground and new evidence must be tested against Ladd v MArshall.

[MrsF65]

Second appeals are much much harder. He isnt going to get the Court to deal with anything that wasnt before the Court last time out, new points generally dont get off the ground and new evidence must be tested against Ladd v MArshall.

Thank you. No he hasn't complied because he hasn't supplied me with a copy of the transcript as ordered. I have today written to the court asking them to strike out the application for permission to appeal.

As the hearing is on 3rd January I am not sure when the court closes but I am intending to get my skeleton argument and any supporting documentation to them before the Christmas break.

I am just not sure what to put in my skeleton argument and do not want to fall foul of the judge for it being too long. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[R0b]

Difficult to say what should and shouldn't be included in a skeleton argument without knowing full facts and seeing all the evidence. Do you know how to set out a skeleton argument?

There are different styles to setting out skeletons as it depends on the facts and case itself but a good starting point in your case might include the following headings:

a. An introduction. This should be brief and be a high level summary of the appeal and what the case is about. For example, you could say something like, This is an application brought by the Appellant for permission for a second appeal from a decision by [His/Her Honour Judge] [name], in the County Court at [location]. The case concerned [describe in a few words i.e. a breach of contract or negligence etc.]

b. Brief facts. When I say brief, I do mean a brief summary of facts of the claim and nothing too extensive, which should be very concise and to the point of the facts.

c. The breach of contract claim.Here you would probably set out brief arguments on both sides and what the judge had decided in the end. Again, key facts should be highlighted as the skeleton should not be lengthy.

d. The set aside application. Not sure if there was actually a set aside application so you'd need to confirm but same format as breach of contract.

e. The Appellant's first appeal. following the same format of the breach of contract heading, you briefly describe what the appeal was about and what arguments were made for both sides and any key points to note. for example, you might say the Appellant sought to appeal the decision of [District Judge] [name], on the basis that the claim ought to have been made against the company, [name of co.] and not the Appellant personally. It was argued that... It was admitted by... The learned Judge held that... etc.

f. The Appellant's application for permission for a second appeal. Here, this is where you want to make your arguments why the Court of Appeal should not grant permission for a second appeal. For example, something along the lines of, The Respondent contends that the Court of Appeal should not grant permission for a second appeal and ought to uphold the judgment of the court below for the following reasons:[list each reason separately]

Obviously you've not explained to us in any detail the reasons why the previous judges dismissed the claim, you've only skirted around it so you will need to be explicit in your skeleton and explain why the judges found in favour of you as the claimant. I am presuming that the judges made a finding of fact that the builder was the contracting party and not the company as he alleges. If that is the case then there is plenty of case law that suggests an appellate court should not interfere with a trial judge's finding of fact unless the judge was plainly wrong. One Court of Appeal case, Clydesdale Bank v Duffy (judgment link here), said at paragraph 5 that:

The Court of Appeal is not here to retry the case. Our job is to review the decision of the trial judge. If he has made an error of law, it is our duty to say so, but reversing a trial judge's findings of fact is a different matter. Both counsel agreed that the burden of persuading an appeal court to reverse a trial judge's findings of fact is a heavy one. Appellate courts have been repeatedly warned by recent cases at the highest level not to interfere with findings of fact by trial judges unless compelled to do so. This applies not only to findings of primary fact but also to the evaluation of those facts and to inferences to be drawn from them. The series of cases, all in the House of Lords or the Supreme Court, culminates in McGraddie v McGraddie [2013] UKSC 58 [2013] 1 WLR 2477.

I think this post is enough to get you started, and if you need any feedback, feel free to post up your draft on here and we can comment on it or provide any pointers, but the content of it rests on you because you know what has gone on whereas we have not.

P.s. you might also want to have a heading at the very beginning titled Preliminary Matters and set out the breaches by the builder in terms of non compliance i.e. the transcript.

[pt2537]

just thinking about this for a minute, were there any sanctions for not complying with the order? If so, then he would need to apply for relief from sanctions too.

[Amethyst]

Oh good gracious. This guy really doesn't want to let go. The court are really not helping either.

Can you post a copy of the 19th July order maybe.

Nothing I can add to what R0b & PT have said atm.

[MrsF65]

Hi all, well after much homework I have prepared ky skeleton argument and sent it to the CLCC together with a trial bundle 3 copies and delivered by appointment etc.

copied it to the Appellant and after ignoring any contact from me since July decided he would do a response. It was six sheets of paper loose in an envelope no bundle. He actually unbelivably said I had asked him for the transcript of the first appeal and “if she wants this she can get it abd pay”. Its not me he was ordered by the court to get it and as usual has denied receiving the order. The hearing is Thursday. I am well prepares after much research but I just wondered if anyone can let me know how the appeal hearing works in the Central London County Court. If it gets that far as he hasnt done a skeleton argument just responded to mine.

[MrsF65]

Well back from the High Court his application was dismissed again as he didnt comply with CPR 52 or once again provide aby evidence. When the judge left the room he asked the usher can he appeal!!!!. Surely not after being heard by a QC and a second appeal.

[pt2537]

Well back from the High Court his application was dismissed again as he didnt comply with CPR 52 or once again provide aby evidence. When the judge left the room he asked the usher can he appeal!!!!. Surely not after being heard by a QC and a second appeal.

Difficult to say, i am not au fait with the whole case so dont know what he can or cant do for sure, but if this was a second appeal, and if permission was refused at a hearing, then its game over as there really is no where else to go other than a Judicial review!!

[MrsF65]

Thanks very much. Got the order today and it really said yes thats it. Application considerably out of time and no error in judgement at the first appeal hearing and no prospect of sucess or any other compelling reason why an appeal should be heard.

thanks for your help