Upon receiving a new court claim, do not delay

legal updates

The consequences of missing a court deadline can be catastrophic.

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Churchill’s famous wartime directive means that immediate attention is required, and given some recent changes to the court process, this phrase is as pertinent today as it was in 1941.

There are three types of claims that may be received:

  1. Online – typically, these do not require an acknowledgment of service (AOS), but a defence is due within 28 days from the date of issue of the claim;
  • Money Claim Online (MCOL) / Civil National Business Centre (CNBC) online – the AOS is completed online usually within 14 days of the date of service, which is usually 5 days after the issue of the claim;
  • Paper Claims (CNBC) – these usually have a date of service with them, which requires an AOS within 14 days of such date.

When a claim is passed to our sister, Lawgistics Litigation for the Motor Trade CIC, there are many processes and tasks that must be completed before the legal advisor can even start to think about the main job of drafting a suitable defence within the very limited time available. The consequences of missing a court deadline can be catastrophic.

The key to success here is timing and everyone in the chain actioning their part immediately, if not sooner. So, upon receipt of a claim, DO NOT dabble, DO NOT delay, but instead, ACTION THIS DAY by sending the papers/link to Lawgistics.

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Howard TilneyHead of Strategy / Legal AdvisorRead More by this author

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Two Years of Lawgistics Litigation Support

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