Counterclaims
In certain circumstances the Defendant may also have a claim against
the Claimant. If this is the case, then such a 'Counterclaim' should be
filed and served with the Defence.
The Claimant will then have 14 days from receipt of the Defence to
file and serve a Reply, if they so wish, and/or a Defence to the
Counterclaim, if relevant.
Once this stage has been reached (known as the 'close of pleadings')
the Court will then usually send out Allocation Questionnaires to all
the parties to find out a little about the claim itself, including the length of
time it is likely to take, the number of witnesses, whether an expert is needed
etc. Once these questionnaires have been received, the Court will usually
allocate the claim to one of the Tracks mentioned above and further referred
to below.