5.1.2. Joinder of issues by the defendant: Counter claim

If a defendant has one or more claims against a claimant, he may raise them in the same proceedings by way of a counterclaim under Part 20 of the CPR. The nature of his cause of action against the claimant need not in any way be factually related to the claimant's claim against him. Thus if, for example, the defendant allegedly owed the claimant a sum of money and after a meeting to discuss financial matters at the claimant's offices, the defendant tripped on frayed carpeting and fell down the stairs breaking his leg, he would be perfectly entitled to counterclaim for his injuries in any action brought by the claimant for the debt. Alternatively, he could issue separate proceedings of his own. The problems of Part 20 claims were already discussed separately in Lecture 2.

5.1.3. Consolidation

Under the court's case management powers, it has a power of its own initiative (or on the application of any party) to consolidate actions to save costs and time. It might do this where there are several claims by separate claimants arising out of the same incid­ent, for example, a specific spoiled holiday or an accident which involved several vic­tims. However, to return to the bus queue example, while it would be convenient to consolidate their actions, there is no mechanism by which the court will be informed of how many potential claimants there are, if they all have separate solicitors and pro­pose to issue proceedings at their own time and place (within the Limitation Act period), and indeed in courts at different ends of the country. Although one might think it would be very much in a defendant's interests to have all the cases consol­idated to proceed together in the one court, that may not be the case. It often suits defendants to have claimants suing in separate proceedings and to use different tactics against each. Moreover, attractive though the prospect of consolidating, say, 10 claim­ants might be, circumstances may vary between claimants with minor injuries, who wish to proceed on the small claims or fast track, and those with major injuries who wish to hold back their claims until a good deal of medical and other evidence has been collected and who may not even issue proceedings until relatively late in the limitation period. Subject to these sorts of problems, however, consolidation of actions will often be an attractive option for the court in applying the overriding objective and basic case management principles.

5.2. Bringing a claim

It is first necessary to explain the term 'statement of case'. By CPR, r. 2.3(1), 'statement of case' means a claim form, particulars of claim where these are not included in the claim form, defence, Part 20 claim, or reply to defence.

An action is commenced by a claim form in a prescribed form called N1. The following must be stated on the form:

(a) The court in which the claimant wishes to issue the claim. This may be either the county court of his choice, the High Court in London or a district registry. If it is the High Court, the division should be specified.

(b) The parties, namely claimant and defendant, and, if either is sued in a represent­ative capacity (e.g., as personal representative of an estate), that fact must be stated.

(c) The addresses of all parties. If there is more than one defendant a separate claim form must be prepared for each, giving their name in the relevant box. On the assumption the claimant is employing a solicitor, his name should be given as the address for service on page 1.

(d) There must then be brief details of the claim (CPR, r. 16.2(a)).

EXAMPLE 1

The claimant's claim is for damages for personal injury and loss caused by the defendant's negli­gence in a motor accident at London Road, Middlemarch on 5 September 2008.

EXAMPLE 2

The claimant's claim is for the sum of £12,531 being the amount outstanding on invoices deliv­ered in respect of goods supplied to the defendant between March and May 2008.

Much fuller and more precise details of the allegations will be contained in the particulars of claim which will be issued and served usually at the same time as the claim form, although they may be served up to 14 days after the claim form is served.

(e) Each claim form must also specify the remedy which is sought. This must be con­tained within the brief details of claim, hence the references to damages and debt above in the examples; if an injunction is claimed that should also be set out. However, it is important to note that by virtue of r. 16.2(5) if one fails to specify a particular remedy on the claim form that does not prohibit a court from granting such a remedy if the claimant later establishes that he is entitled to it.

(f) Statement of value. If the claimant is claiming money, the claim form must con­tain a statement of its value (CPR, r. 16.2(l)(c)). The relevant provisions of Part 16 and Part 7 ought to be followed and in particular PD 7. The statement of value must specify:

(i) the amount of money being claimed if it is an exact sum;

(ii) if a precise sum is not being claimed, as in damages for personal injury, the claimant should indicate the maximum that he seeks and it is also of help if he specifies the minimum he considers he is likely to get to assist the court in allocating to track. For example, one might specify that one expects to get 'damages between £5,000 and £15,000' so the court will know that this is potentially a fast track case; or damages 'exceeding £15,000, but not more than £50,000' which will be multi-track,

(iii) The claimant may say that he cannot state how much he expects to recover. This might well be the case, for example, where they might be awarded by a jury as would be the case in a false imprisonment, defamation or a mali­cious prosecution claim.

A claimant must state whether the amount he expects to recover is more than £1,000 for pain and suffering in a personal injury case as even if the value of the claim as a whole is under £5,000 in such a case it cannot be allocated to the small claims track (see Lecture 2.2.2). There is a similar provision in respect of housing disrepair claims which is also discussed at Lecture 2.2.2.