Non attendance at Small Claims Court due to Illness

[NickMeade]

Hi, and thank you in advance for any help and assistance.

My wife is taking legal action against Thomas Cook for a Cuban Caribbean Holiday which was in he words horrendous. She has completed the obligatory letters to them and sought help from ABTA to no avail and now she has notice that the case will be heard at a County Court Hearing Centre. She unfortunately suffered a heart attack 4 days ago and will be unable to attend any future court hearing. She has no legal representative and all matters have been dealt by letter and email by herself. I am attempting to compile a letter to the Judge under CPR 27.9 and cannot find any examples to which I can adapt to her case. I understand that Judges do not like non attendance of Claimants but in this case she is physically unable to attend. Could someone please point me in the right direction. Thank you.

[ploddertom]

Do you have a date for a Hearing?

[NickMeade]

Do you have a date for a Hearing?

No date, just notice that it will be held at a named court awaiting allocation.

[ploddertom]

The named Court will be your local one and could be up to 3 months away.

I do hope however she is getting the right treatment at present and it is important she takes note of instructions given to her - hopefully once released she will be offered a Cardio Rehab course. A good site for info can be found at https://healthunlocked.com/bhf and look for British Heart Foundation it has some 7000+ members

[NickMeade]

Dear Ploddertom, thank you for your concerns.

I appreciate that there may be some delay in obtaining a date but in anticipation that she still cannot attend I am preparing all documents including this letter.

Searching around I see the procedure but cannot see any examples or layout to which I should observe. I do not want any delay nor reasons for Thomas Cook to win over a procedural mistake.

Thank you.

[ploddertom]

There are 2 things you have to consider in deciding what you want

1 - Discontinuance - if you think the hassles of it all are going to be too much But this means giving up the Claim.

2 - Wait until you have a Hearing Date and if things are still difficult then approx 2 weeks before the Hearing apply to Vacate the Hearing on health grounds but be warned you may only get it postponed for a very short time and may not be able to do so again.

Others here will have other ideas but being the weekend may be quieter than normal.

[des8]

Your options are well set out here: https://www.smallclaimscourtgenie.co...-hearing-date/

[2222]

Hi Nick

No court case is worth endangering your wife's recovery, so you should aim to settle the case ASAP. I have been in court a dozen times, and I still find it quite nerve racking. I doubt that the anxiety would be good for her.

Bear in mind that it will cost the defendants at least around £500-1000 just to get some sort of legal representation in court, and even if they win that's not recoverable. They can send a manager along to represent them, instead, but that costs money too.

How much are are you claiming and how do you rate your case?