claim form

A claim form is the originating process used in English Courts to commence legal proceedings. It is a formal written statement setting out the name and address of the claimant and the defendant, the basic details of the claim and the sum claimed. The facts and circumstances giving rise to the claim may be included in the claim form, however these are often set out in a separate document named "Particulars of Claim". Claim forms may be issued under either Part 7 or Part 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules.  The introduction of this form replaced all the previous methods of commencing litigation in the UK, such as an originating summons and writ of summons.

Contentious Disputes

Proceedings commenced under Part 7 of the Civil Procedure Rules are by far and away the most common form litigation in the United Kingdom. Part 7 claims are used where there is likely to be a dispute in respect to the facts of the case. After the court issues the claim form (by applying its seal), the timetables fixed for litigation commence after the claim form and particulars of claim are served on the defendant(s). Thereafter, the defendant must file an acknowledgement of service and file a Defence within limited time periods, unless otherwise agreed between the parties. After allocation of the proceedings to one of the fast track or multi-track (for the purposes of case management), the court will make directions for the future conduct of the litigation. The pre-trial procedures that will be included in the directions include disclosure and preparation of expert and lay evidence. Case management conferences may be held to set and maintain the case management directions for the proceedings leading up to the final hearing. Once these interim processes have been completed, the litigation will proceed to the trial, where the court will determine the parties’ rights after hearing submissions and considering the evidence. The parties are at liberty to make interim applications to apply for temporary court orders where the other party is in default or there are issues that ought to be heard by the court prior to the full hearing, such as security for costs applications, requests for further information and clarification and interim injunctions in extreme cases.

Alternative Procedure

Part 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules allow persons to approach the court to answer a question of law where there is no substantial dispute as to the facts, in contrast to Part 7 claims. These legal proceedings have a higher degree of focus than Part 7 Claims, and as a result tend to be more time and cost effective - provided that the dispute falls within the matter permitted to be heard in the Civil Procedure Rules. Proceedings commenced under this Part may be transferred on an application to the Part 7 procedure if they have been inappropriately commenced under Part 8. The questions to be determined under Part 8 may relate to the construction of a legal document, such as a contract; administration of an estate or other matters contemplated by a relevant Practice Direction.

There are other differences between proceedings commenced in Part 8 and Part 7. A Part 8 Defendant is not required to file a Defence and Summary Judgment is not available to either party. Applicants generally seek declarations under the documents presented to the court, to determine the parties’ respective rights.

Time for Service

Once a Part 7 claim form has been issued at court, provided the claimant has elected to serve the originating process the claimant has fixed amount of time to serve it on the other parties. If the claim form is to be served in England or Wales, the claimant has 4 months within which to serve the originating process. When the claim form is to be served outside the jurisdiction, the time allowed is extended to 6 months, unless there is a court order specifying some period for service. Permission of the Court is required in order to serve a claim form in a country outside the UK and Europe.

The claimant may (1) serve the claim form together with the particulars of claim or (2) serve the claim form and within 14 days of serving the claim form, serve the particulars of claim, provided they are served within the relevant time limits.

In the event that the claimant cannot or does not serve the documents within the relevant time limit, it may make an application to court before the time limit expires for an extension of time. The application notice must be filed with evidence giving reasons why the extension should be made, in the form of an affidavit or witness statement. Such applications and can be made without notice. The court does not need to be satisfied that the claimant has taken all reasonable steps to serve the claim form, however a valid reason for granting the extension must be put forward by the claimant and the extension of time for service requested should be no longer than is necessary. The court will consider whether an extension is in line with the overriding objective which sets out that the courts must deal with cases justly.

If the time limit has expired the court may only grant an extension, if the claimant when attempting to serve the papers, has failed to serve the claim form or the claimant has taken all reasonable steps to serve the claim form in the time period and, in both cases, the claimant has acted promptly in making the application. The parties to the claim can agree to extend the time for service of the claim form, however, a specific date must be agreed and evidenced in writing. Alternatively, the claimant may serve the claim form and follow service by making an application to serve the particulars of claim outside the time limit. The court more show more flexibility in this instance. By serving the claim form the defendant is put on notice of the claim and is placed in a position to investigate the substance of the proceedings.

Substituted Service

Since the Civil Procedure Rules came into force, substituted service is now referred to as "service by an alternate means". In substance, the law is the same as it was. Before applying for orders for substituted service, a claimant should at least make one attempt to serve the claim form and particulars of claim. English Courts are generally amenable to making such orders, and frequently order that defendants (particularly where there is evidence that the defendant is avoiding service) to serve the originating process by electronic means. It is no longer novel in England to serve documents by Twitter, Facebook, email, or publishing court documents on a website. In the High Court, these applications may be made without notice to a Master of the Court, often without the need for a hearing, and without appearing before a judge.