The so-called 'small claims court' was introduced in 1973 and was then available for claims up to British Pounds 500. The limit has been increased over the years and in 1999 it was raised from British Pounds 3,000 to British Pounds 5,000. The correct title is the small clams track and the majority of cases are allocated to this track.
The small claims track is intended to be 'user friendly' and, to coin a phrase, to bring justice to the people. It is intended that the majority of claimants and defendants will speak for themselves and efforts are made so that this can happen. It is, though, possible to be legally represented or to be represented by a friend or some other person, such as a trade union official perhaps. However, legal costs will not be awarded, even if the case is won, though reasonable out of pocket expenses may be awarded. The judge has a great deal of freedom to decide on procedures. The strict rules of evidence do not normally apply and evidence is not normally given under oath.
Claimants (and defendants) often prefer the small claims track and there are three obvious reasons for this:
The possible downside is a consequence of the advantages. Rules, procedures and safeguards may be, and often are, irritating, but they usually have a reason. A decision reached in the small claims track may not be quite so reliable as a decision reached in one of the other tracks, though this is probably cancelled out by the practice of not allocating complex cases to it.
A case for a claim in excess of British Pounds 5,000 may be held in the small claims track if the claimant and defendant agree and if the judge does not object. All must agree and any one of the three can prevent it. It may be possible for a claimant to split a claim then have both cases heard in the small claims track. This cannot normally be done if all the outstanding amount arises out of one contract, but it should be possible if this is not the case. For example, consider a furniture shop that sells a dining room table for British Pounds 4,000.
The purchaser is so pleased with it that he returns the next day and buys the matching set of dining room chairs for British Pounds 3,000. If payment is not made, the shop should be able to issue claims for British Pounds 4,000 and British Pounds 3,000, rather than a single claim for British Pounds 7,000. If a claim for more than British Pounds 5,000 is allocated to the small claims track, costs, including solicitor's costs, may be awarded. Before leaving the subject, it is worth noting that a claimant can voluntarily limit the amount of a claim to British Pounds 5,000. This would not normally be worth contemplating, but it might be considered if the amount of the claim is only slightly over British Pounds 5,000. If this is done, the client would set out the particulars of claim in the normal way, but would terminate them with the words 'but the claimant voluntarily limits the claim to British Pounds 5,000'.
The notice of allocation to the small claims track will give 'directions'. These will cover such matters as the permitted use of experts and will give instructions on such matters as the exchange of documents. The deadline for this could, for example, be not less than 14 days before the hearing is due to take place.
Either or both of the parties can request that the date of the hearing be rescheduled and this will then be at the discretion of the judge. Either or both of the parties can request that the case be decided in their absence. The person requesting this should write to the court no later than seven days before the scheduled hearing date and a copy of the letter should be sent to the other party. The letter should request the judge to take into account any written evidence that has been supplied to the court and to the other party. If a case is decided in the absence of the claimant or the defendant (or their representatives), the absent party can apply for the judgment to be set aside and the claim re-heard. The application must be made within 14 days of receipt of the judgment. The judge will only grant the application if there was a good reason for the absence (illness for example) and he believes that the applicant has a reasonable prospect of success at the re-hearing.
The judge might call for a preliminary hearing. This could be because either the particulars of claim or the defence do not show any reasonable grounds for bringing the claim or defending it, or if it appears to him that one of the parties has no real prospect of winning and he wants to dispose of the claim as soon as possible. Alternatively, it might be because he wants to explain some 'special directions'.
Another possibility is that the judge may propose to decide the case without a hearing. This would be because he believes that a just decision can be reached using the written evidence only. If this is proposed, the parties will be sent the form 'Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track (no hearing)'. Either side can veto this and, if this happens, there will be a hearing.
The hearing may be in a court room but is more likely to be in a much smaller judge's room. It may be held in public but the judge has a lot of discretion in deciding that the public should be excluded. The judge also has a lot of discretion about how the hearing is conducted. An explanatory court leaflet on the small claims track puts it as follows: The judge can adopt any method of conducing the hearing which is fair. Generally, however:
At the end of the hearing the judge will tell you the decision reached (the judgment) and give brief reasons for it. After the hearing the claimant and the defendant will be sent an order (or judgment) setting out the judge's decision. If either party did not attend the hearing, brief reasons for the decision will also be given.
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