Civil Litigation
Although it is always preferable to avoid having to go to Court, which should
be considered a last resort, sometimes litigation becomes unavoidable when
parties are unable to resolve a dispute between themselves. In this situation,
it is important to establish whether there is a good case against the opponent
and whether they are able to pay any sums ordered by the Court, prior to
commencing or defending a claim.
A further consideration is how much the claim is worth. This is particularly
relevant for claims worth £5,000 or less (or £1,000 or less where
the claim is for housing disrepair or personal injury) as these claims are normally
dealt with in what is called the 'Small Claims Track'. When a claim is a 'Small
Claim' you cannot normally recover your costs from the other side even if you
are successful (except for Court fees and an issue fee).
If the amount in dispute or of compensation sought is over £5,000, the
claim will be allocated to either the 'Fast Track' (for sums between £5,000
and £15,000) or the 'Multi Track' (for claims over £15,000 or where
the matter is likely to be especially complicated, for example, because of the time
needed for trial or the amount of evidence involved). The usual situation in Fast or
Multi Track cases is that the losing party is ordered to pay the reasonable legal
costs and expenses of the winning party although this is always at the discretion
of the Court.
Of course, Court proceedings can also be to obtain an order for specific
performance (i.e. an order requiring a party to do something, such as carrying out
remedial works where there is disrepair to a property) or an injunction (i.e. an order
preventing someone from doing something, for example, building a wall).
Penn Legal can guide you through any application you need to make in a sensible, constructive and cost effective way.
Sometimes litigation becomes unavoidable when
parties are unable to resolve a dispute between themselves.