Important Advice On Witness Statements

[russ2101]

afew weeks ago i posted on here about witness statements, i had followed the court order given by the county court and sent it on time on the right day but i didnt recieve the claimants witness statement till 2 weeks after.

so this puts them at a very unfair advantage, i was told on here that it is a regular thing that claimants do so i've been on a legal forum and taken some advice.

so make a note and dont let them get away with it fight them all the way.

if you havent sent your witness statement yet this first but is for you.

 

Before putting your statements in the post for a simultaneous exchange, phone the other side and check that they are ready to exchange. If so, send your statements; the covering letter should note that pursuant to the agreement made by telephone they were to put their statements in the post on the same business day.

 

If they say they aren't ready to exchange, ask them when they anticipate being ready. Then write a letter noting the contents of the conversation, and that your witness statements have been filed with the court. This letter should go in your own case file so that you can, if necessary, draw the court's attention to the failure to comply with directions.

 

In the covering letter to the court note that you offered to exchange with the o/s but that it was not ready.

 

What you should avoid doing is sending your witness statements so that they can have a jolly good look at them and draft their own statements accordingly.

 

In your situation, you should check their statements to see if they obviously or possibly not so obviously are drafted in response to yours. If so, and if you have rebuttal points you wish to make, contact the other side and say that you've caught them with their hands in the treacle jar, and you want to serve a supplementary statement(s), and that if they object you'll make an application on the basis that they have taken unfair advantage of receipt of your statements. If they agree then keep the rebuttals as short as possible.

 

If the directions say 'No other witness statements except by permission of the court' then you'll have to apply for an order for the supplemental statements, but you should have no difficulty if the other side consents. If the directions do say that and the other side does not consent, then you argue that you should not have to pay the costs of the application (for supplemental statements) because it was only necessitated by their failure to comply with directions.

 

if you have sent it already and they have gone against the court order then this is for you.

 

Solicitors Regulation Authority - Code of Conduct: Rule 11

 

maybe a sticky put on this????

[The_Grumlin]

I agree, this is a very import point, the equality of both parties before the court. So many DCA appear to play the system and get away with it because average Joe doesn't know the processes.

 

Something for all members with up comming exchanges to take note of, myself included.

[diddydicky]

why not send them by courier- the day before the deadline- with delivery guaranteed next day (but not before 10 am or noon)