Consent to Set aside judgment / witness statement

[Legalobeagle]

Hello there,

I have a judgement in default. I did not receive the paperwork.*

On your site you have a template for a witness statement for form N244 to set aside a judgment. Part of that says you should try getting the claimant to consent to set aside the judgement.*

I asked the claimant to set aside the judgement and the claimant has written back asking in what form I want consent.

can someone explain how the consent works? Does My claimant just write me a letter giving consent to go to court and have the case heard? Do they need to fill in a form at their end and file it? I couldn’t see any advice for what happens if they offer to do it, just advice on what happens when they ignore you?

If he then writes me a letter giving consent to set aside the judgement and go to court to hear the matter, how does that affect the payment of £255 to the court? There doesn’t seem to be a box for that to say “reduced as claimant consents”. The threads I’ve read suggest a claim N244 judgement to set aside costs less than £255 if the claimant agrees. Is there a clear document on the courts website about these costs and the reduction? I can’t find any clear evidence to back up those claims made here.*

In desperation, poverty and stress,

Leagleobeagle.

[Legalobeagle]

Also I’m confused about the N244 form

[Amethyst]

Hi there,

Well done in getting the judgment holder to agree to consent to the set aside application. What you'd do now is draft a consent order to send to the judgment holder to sign, then you can send in the signed copy with your N244 application and fee for £100 for the judge to approve ( they can still deny it but will usually approve it ).

This is an example of a consent order -Sep 30, Doc 1.pdf ( PDF DOWNLOAD )

Who is the judgment holder? ( I mean is it one of the big debt purchaser companies like Cabot/Lowell etc or is it an individual / small company who aren't day to day litigators ? )


Regards the fee. You would just tell the court when you go to submit the application ( or call the CCBC to pay ) the type of application it is.

From the EX50 Court Fees document...

General applications – fees order 2.4-2.8 •
Application on notice where no other fee is specified. £255 •
Application to set aside a County Court judgment. £255 •
Application by consent or without notice where no other fee is specified. £100

•

[Legalobeagle]

The attached form says (attached picture).


we haven’t agreed to a settlement, the claimant is just potentially agreeing to return to court to settle the matter.*

*

[Legalobeagle]

Hello, I’m operating on a very tight deadline here, I need to send this letter by end of play today. I appreciate its free advice but I’m time is of the essence.*

[Legalobeagle]

Thank you to anyone whose able to reply to me by 5 ideally, please. Thanks for all existing advice so far x

[Amethyst]

Tomorrow will be fine - draft the consent order to say what has been agreed - the attached was simply an example of a consent order for help with layout and general wording...

so

by consent....

1. The judgment dated [insert date of judgment]be set aside.

2. The Defendant shall file and serve his Defence by 4pm on *[insert date].

3. There be no order as to Costs of this application

4. The Claimant has permission to file and serve a reply if so required

[Legalobeagle]

Thanks.
where would I file a defence? What date can I put on? Can I leave a date off and ask the court to contact me to file a defence?

[Legalobeagle]

Just waiting on a response (please)over:
2. The Defendant shall file and serve his Defence by 4pm on *[insert date].

Can I request instead that the court contact me to file a defence giving me information on how and where to file a defence, rather than give a date? One would assume if the court accepts this consent order that this is what they would do anyway?

i have no idea what or where to file so giving a date seems like a bad idea.

thanks for all responses to date.

sincerely,*
Legalobeagle

[R0b]

14 days is the norm but if you need further time and give yourself some breathing space then you can put 28 days since this would have been the amount of time you would have been given if you received the claim form and acknowledge it.*

[Legalobeagle]

I’m not filling in form N180, I’m filling in form N244.

is anyone able to answer my questions please?

Just waiting on a response (please)over:
2. The Defendant shall file and serve his Defence by 4pm on *[insert date].

Can I request instead that the court contact me to file a defence giving me information on how and where to file a defence, rather than give a date? One would assume if the court accepts this consent order that this is what they would do anyway?

i have no idea what or where to file so giving a date seems like a bad idea.

thanks for all responses to date.

sincerely,
Legalobeagle

[Legalobeagle]

I’m confused about putting in that I don’t want costs too. I do want costs. I want the money back for submitting this, it’s a total waste of my time.*

[R0b]

What has the directions questionnaire got to do with the timescale for filing a defence? The DQ form 180 has nothing to do with filing a defence.

I've told you what you can put in it but you are not listening. The court will not contact you to ask you when you want to decide to file a defence. if you leave it blank they will most like either send back your consent order as incomplete or substitute it for a number of days they seem fit - probably 14 days.

The whole purpose of a consent order is that the document is agreed between the parties and simply needs to be ratified by the court.. not the court to do your job.