EXAMPLE Witness Statement

[Amethyst]

A witness statement will be a very different document for virtually every claim as it is a personal statement of what has happened and when. It isn't for the legal arguments.

This is a very brief example to get you started off.

If you have a hearing coming up then a witness statement should be submitted to the court ( and a copy sent to the other party) at least 14 days before the hearing.

Part 32 of the Civil Procedures Rules contain guidance on preparing witness statements.




A witness statement should start by explaining who is making the witness statement and what their involvement is with the case.

eg: I, FRED SMITH of 40 AnyTown Road, AnyTown, AnyCounty SW1 1AA, being the Defendant in this case will state as follows;

It should then detail what the witness statement is for.

eg: 1. I make this Witness Statement in support of my defence in this claim which is due to be heard on 20th September 2012 at Gotham County Court.

You should then state that you are talking from your own actual experience and knowledge and not just hearsay.

eg: 2. The matters set out below are within my own knowledge, except where I indicate to the contrary.

Then you can jump into the case.. this will depend on what the case is but there's a short example below. If you have a look through the forum you will find many, many examples of other people's witness statements which will help give you an idea what to write.

Here's some examples on other peoples threads -
http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...781#post470781
http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...282#post498282
http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...7&d=1243797830 ( WORD DOC DOWNLOAD )
http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...995#post229995
http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...679#post191679
http://www.legalbeagles.info/forums/...398#post173398

IN THE XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX COUNTY COURT

Claim No. XXXXXXXX

BETWEEN:

XXXXXXXXXX

Claimant

- and -

Defendant

XXXXXXXXXX

_________________________________

WITNESS STATEMENT OF xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_________________________________

I XXXXXXXXXX of XXXXXXXXXX address XXXXXXXXXX being the Defendant in this case will state as follows;


1. I make this Witness Statement in support of my defence in this claim. The matters set out below are within my own knowledge, except where I indicate to the contrary.

2. On XXXXXXXXXX 2014 I made a written request to the Claimant solicitors, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx of xxxxxx address xxxxxxxxxxxx requesting that the Claimant provides copies of all documents mentioned in the statement of case.[EXHIBIT A]

3. On XXXXXXXXXX , I contacted the Claimants xxxxxxxxxxxxx

4: On xxxxxxxxxxx I received a letter [EXHIBIT B] from the Claimants stating xxxxxxxxxxxxx

5:

6:

7: Therefore I believe the claimant xxxxxxxxxxxx


Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.



Signed: ________________________________

Dated:

IN THE XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX COUNTY COURT

Claim No. XXXXXXXX

BETWEEN:

XXXXXXXXXX

Claimant

- and –

Defendant

XXXXXXXXXX

_________________________________

WITNESS STATEMENT OF xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
_________________________________

I XXXXXXXXXX of XXXXXXXXXX address XXXXXXXXXX being the Defendant in this case will state as follows;

1. I make this Witness Statement in support of the application for an order that the judgment in this case (Claim No. XXXXXXXXXXX Judgment dated XXXXX) be set aside.

2: CPR 13.3 states (1) In any other case, the court may set aside or vary a judgment entered under Part 12 if –

(a) the defendant has a real prospect of successfully defending the claim; or

(b) it appears to the court that there is some other good reason why –

(i) the judgment should be set aside or varied; or
(ii) the defendant should be allowed to defend the claim.

3. I learnt of the existence of this claim on the XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX when I received a letter from the Claimant requesting payment of the judgment forthwith [EXHIBIT A]

4. My address changed in XXXXXXXXXXXXX and a redirection service was in place from XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX to XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX / I informed the Creditor that I had moved house in writing/telephone on XXXXXXXXXXXXXX. // I was admitted to hospital on XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX until XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX and had no knowledge of the claim until XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX // I was out of the country on business //

5. xxxxxxxxxxxxx further information about why you did not defend/acknowledge originally

6: On XXXXXXXXXX 2014 I made a written/telephone request to the Claimant solicitors inviting them to consent to set aside the judgment due to the reasons in paragraph 4.

7. The Claimant did not respond to my request / turned down my request.

8. I therefore ask that the Court sets aside the judgment in this claim and allows 14 days for me to submit my defence.


Statement of Truth

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.



Signed: ________________________________

This is the Court Rules on Witness Statements

WITNESS STATEMENTS

Heading


17.1 The witness statement should be headed with the title of the proceedings (see paragraph 4 of Practice Direction 7A and paragraph 7 of Practice Direction 20); where the proceedings are between several parties with the same status it is sufficient to identify the parties as follows:

	Number:
A.B. (and others)	Claimants/Applicants
C.D. (and others)	Defendants/Respondents
	(as appropriate)

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17.2 At the top right hand corner of the first page there should be clearly written:

(1) the party on whose behalf it is made,

(2) the initials and surname of the witness,

(3) the number of the statement in relation to that witness,

(4) the identifying initials and number of each exhibit referred to, and

(5) the date the statement was made.

Back to top Body of witness statement


18.1 The witness statement must, if practicable, be in the intended witness’s own words, the statement should be expressed in the first person and should also state:

(1) the full name of the witness,

(2) his place of residence or, if he is making the statement in his professional, business or other occupational capacity, the address at which he works, the position he holds and the name of his firm or employer,

(3) his occupation, or if he has none, his description, and

(4) the fact that he is a party to the proceedings or is the employee of such a party if it be the case.

18.2 A witness statement must indicate:

(1) which of the statements in it are made from the witness’s own knowledge and which are matters of information or belief, and

(2) the source for any matters of information or belief.

18.3 An exhibit used in conjunction with a witness statement should be verified and identified by the witness and remain separate from the witness statement.

18.4 Where a witness refers to an exhibit or exhibits, he should state ‘I refer to the (description of exhibit) marked‘…’’.

18.5 The provisions of paragraphs 11.3 to 15.4 (exhibits) apply similarly to witness statements as they do to affidavits.

18.6 Where a witness makes more than one witness statement to which there are exhibits, in the same proceedings, the numbering of the exhibits should run consecutively throughout and not start again with each witness statement.

Back to top Format of witness statement


19.1 A witness statement should:

(1) be produced on durable quality A4 paper with a 3.5cm margin,


(2) be fully legible and should normally be typed on one side of the paper only,

(3) where possible, be bound securely in a manner which would not hamper filing, or otherwise each page should be endorsed with the case number and should bear the initials of the witness,

(4) have the pages numbered consecutively as a separate statement (or as one of several statements contained in a file),

(5) be divided into numbered paragraphs,

(6) have all numbers, including dates, expressed in figures, and

(7) give the reference to any document or documents mentioned either in the margin or in bold text in the body of the statement.

19.2 It is usually convenient for a witness statement to follow the chronological sequence of the events or matters dealt with, each paragraph of a witness statement should as far as possible be confined to a distinct portion of the subject.

Back to top Statement of Truth


20.1 A witness statement is the equivalent of the oral evidence which that witness would, if called, give in evidence; it must include a statement by the intended witness that he believes the facts in it are true¹³.

20.2 To verify a witness statement the statement of truth is as follows:

I believe that the facts stated in this witness statement are true. I understand that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.


20.3 Attention is drawn to rule 32.14 which sets out the consequences of verifying a witness statement containing a false statement without an honest belief in its truth.

(Paragraph 3A of Practice Direction 22 sets out the procedure to be followed where the person who should sign a document which is verified by a statement of truth is unable to read or sign the document.)

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21 Omitted Alterations to witness statements


22.1 Any alteration to a witness statement must be initialled by the person making the statement or by the authorised person where appropriate (see paragraph 21).

22.2 A witness statement which contains an alteration that has not been initialled may be used in evidence only with the permission of the court.

Back to top Filing of witness statements


23.1 If the court directs that a witness statement is to be filed¹⁴, it must be filed in the court or Division, or Office or Registry of the court or Division where the action in which it was or is to be used, is proceeding or will proceed.

[nemesis45]

Re: EXAMPLE Witness Statement

Now that's a great template!!

[Amethyst]

Re: EXAMPLE Witness Statement

Cheers nemesis xx Just adding some links to other peoples past Witness Statements to help people see examples.

[Londonjay]

Hello

Thanks for your help and input into this matter. I have now drafted my witness statement to send off to the court and claimant tomorrow in time for Wednesdays deadline. I attach a copy below. please can someone advise if this is suffcient enough to submitt to the county court


IN THE KINGSTON COUNTY COURT


Claim No. X

BETWEEN:
ASSET COLLECTIONS & INVESTIGATIONS LTD
Claimant
- and –
Defendant
X

_________________________________

WITNESS STATEMENT OF X
_________________________________



I X of x being the Defendant in this case will state as follows;

1. I received the claim x from Northampton County Court Business Centre on Tuesday 5^th June 2018

2. Each and every allegation in the Claimants statement of case is denied unless specifically admitted in this Defence.

3. This claim appears to be for a high cost short term Loan agreement regulated under the Consumer Credit Act 1974.

4. In previous communication the Claimant has stated that that the initial agreement is dated 14^th September 2010 however no copy of the agreement nor evidence relating to the alleged debt has been provided to me.

5: I do not recognise this debt and dispute that any agreement was ever entered into with Lending Stream as alleged by the Claimant.

6. In any event, I contend the alleged debt is statute barred by virtue of Section 5 of the Limitations Act 1980 in that no payment or acknowledgment has been made for over 6 years. The Defendant has checked his own records and has found nothing relating to the alleged debt.

7. I Have never, to the best of his knowledge, received any notice of termination or default under s.87 of the Consumer Credit Act `1974 in relation to the alleged debt.

8. The Claimants statement of case states that the account was assigned from Lending Stream to Asset Collections & Investigations Ltd. I do not recall receiving notice of this assignment.

9. On the 8^TH June 2018 I sent a request for inspection of documents mentioned in the claimants statement of case under Civil Procedure Rule 31.14 to Asset Collections & Investigations Ltd. The Defendant further requested the Claimant provide copies of the Agreement, Default Notice and Notice of Assignment. This was sent recorded post on 8^th June 2018.

10. The Claimant has not sent any of these documents to the Defendant nor have they acknowledged receipt of the request.


11. On the 8^th June 2018 I also sent a formal request for a copy of the original agreement to Asset Collections & Investigations Ltd pursuant to sections 77/78 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 along with the statutory £1 fee by Recorded post.

12.The Claimant has failed to comply with s77 (1) / s 78 (1) of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and by virtue of s77 (4) / s 78 (6)Consumer Credit Act 1974 cannot enforce the agreement.

13.Under Civil Procedure Rule 16.5 (4) Where the claim includes a money claim, a defendant shall be taken to require that any allegation relating to the amount of money claimed be proved unless he expressly admits the allegation. Therefore, it is expected that the Claimant be required to prove the allegation that the money is owed as claimed.

14. I request the court orders the Claimants to provide the necessary documentation in order for me to fully plead my case else the Claim should stand struck out.

15.In the event that the relevant documents are received, I will then be in a position to amend this defence, and would ask that the Claimants bear the costs of the amendment.



Statement of Truth

I, x, the Defendant, believe the facts stated within this Witness Statement to be true.


Signed: ________________________________

[Amethyst]

You're switching a bit between first and third person - a witness statement wants to be in first person ( so I, rather than he/the Defendant ) Also it reads far more like a defence so I'll have a look for your thread and put things together and see what you actually need to be doing.