Lawgistics are specialists in the English and Welsh legal systems and – on behalf of our many clients – are regularly e-mailing the courts with a variety of documents such as Defences and Witness Statements.
From time to time though we dip our toes into the chilly waters of the Scottish legal procedure and we did so recently when drafting a Defence (or a “Response” as it is known across the border) to a claim against a car dealer in Fife. The court papers gave an e-mail address of the court – Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court – and to there the form was e-mailed, duly signed by our client.
We were surprised to receive an e-mail from the court to say that they did not accept documents sent by e-mail and asked for a postal version. This was promptly done. However, our client went on to receive a letter with the posted Response returned – the court had rejected it because it had been received out of time! Upon contacting the court, they agreed to accept the e-mailed version of the Response (which had been sent in time) but their advice to me then was as clear as it is from me to you now – ALWAYS POST YOUR DOCUMENTS TO THE SCOTTISH COURT SO IT ARRIVES ON TIME AS E-MAIL is NOT appropriate.
And I encourage all Scottish readers to bear this in mind – even if the court documents a) give an e-mail address of the court and b) does not tell you that you must post them!
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