K4. Default judgments and admissions
| 279. |
As the figures examined
in Appendix C Table 6 show, a large proportion of cases end in default judgments. In many
cases, the defendant accepts that there is no defence and but seeks time to pay or wishes
to dispute the amount of interest due or to raise similar issues of detail. At present,
dealing with such questions may require one or more appearances before a master and scope
appears to exist for streamlining the process in such cases. |
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| 280. |
Part 14 of the CPR aims
to provide such streamlining. It has two objectives. |
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| 280.1 |
First, it provides a
simple and flexible set of rules to allow binding admissions to be made regarding all or
any part of the other side's case, narrowing the issues between the parties and so saving
costs. (Note 214) The court is also given a discretion to allow admissions
to be withdrawn on terms so that making an admission is perhaps less daunting since it is
not absolutely irreversible. |
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| 280.2 |
Secondly, it sets out a
procedure for debt or money claims whereby the defendant is allowed to admit the claim and
to make proposals for payment by instalments. If accepted, a judgment incorporating those
terms can be entered administratively without the expense of a hearing or involving a
judicial officer. |
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| 281. |
As this provides an
interesting example of procedural streamlining, it may be worth looking at a little of the
detail in relation to such money claims. |
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When the plaintiff serves
particulars of his claim, it is accompanied by a practice form which the defendant can use
if he wants to make admissions under Part 14. If he wants to avail himself of this
procedure, he has to do so within 14 days, (Note 215) or else the procedure may become a source of delay. |
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The rules cater for both
liquidated claims (referred to as claims for specified amounts) (Note 216) and unliquidated claims (where no amount is specified) (Note 217) as well as for defendants who wish to admit the whole or only part
of the claim. |
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* |
To take the simplest case,
namely, where the claim is for a specified amount (including a calculated sum of interest
within statutory limits) and the defendant admits the whole of it but wants time to pay,
the defendant accompanies his admission with proposals for payment by instalments, stating
the rate and time for such payments. (Note 218) If the plaintiff decides to accept, he simply asks the Registry to
enter judgment in those terms without any intervention of a master or judge. |
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* |
Where partial agreement is
reached, Part 14 provides for the non-agreed aspects (eg, as to the quantum or number of
the instalments) to be determined by a court official for claims up to £50,000 or by a
judge if a larger amount is involved, stipulating that the judge may make a determination
"without a hearing". Parties can however request a hearing for questions to be
re-determined where dissatisfied. (Note 219) |
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| 282. |
These changes appear to
be a sensible attempt at saving costs and merit consideration for adoption. Readers are
consulted accordingly: Proposal 8. |
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| 283. |
The techniques (which
may be emulated in other contexts) involve :- |
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Encouraging the parties
to agree on all or some of the necessary arrangements, so as to eliminate or limit the
scope of argument. |
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Making provision for
obviously foreseeable alternative scenarios so that the parties can deal with each case
with minimal debate and without reference to the court. |
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Providing standard
forms to make it easier for a litigant to activate the rule. |
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Letting the court
determine outstanding issues on paper, but providing for a hearing if desired by the
parties. |
Notes
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