Lunatic's money claim and Practise direction 3.a striking out a claim

[HeadacheEarthquake]

Being pursued for compensation by the owner of a venue I hired.

The signed contract between him and myself contains no references of damage, the person being taken to SCC isn't the hirer, I am, and the claimant has no proof of the damages either.

(It's over a stained tablecloth)

He obviously hasn't replaced them and shown us a receipt, he's sent an invoice that we're of course not obliged to pay.

How can I speed up this case being struck off, can I do something to apply for it to be thrown out under section 3.4

(3) those which contain a coherent set of facts but those facts, even if true, do not disclose any legally recognisable claim against the defendant.
Do I write to the court office?

I spent 2 solid weeks debating whether to pay or dispute my fine. Once I finally paid the fucking thing, peace descended on me. Shit like this can just eat you up. Will I? Won't I? Of course you don't want a liar to win but equally, you want peace of mind - and believe me you cannot put a price on peace of mind.

My friend is in bits but of course doesn't want to pay for something he didn't do and let the bully have the satisfaction.

I might mention he told us while we were setting up that he often has problems "getting money from people" after the event and we didn't really pay him much heed as it was literally the day before my wedding, but another friend asked him what he meant and it sounds like he does this to everyone.

Litigation is supposed to be last resort. He should have submitted his claim and supporting evidence before taking any action.

I’ve been on the other side of one of these claims and won. I wouldn’t spend any money and go on a free fishing expedition . Put in a DSAR request for any data they have on your friend e.g CCTV images. Also set up a few reminders to chase them for the evidence re the table cloth damage. This way you’ll start to build up a bundle to show there is no evidence of the claim.

Until you have any concrete evidence I wouldn't stress. The process shouldn’t take more than a day; writing a quick defence, a couple of emails re the data the other side have, maybe an hour writing a witness statement and a few hours in court. I’d image the other side will give up if they don’t have any evidence and it’s clear your not an east target to build up their bank balance

He does not need to disclose his evidence yet. The particulars of claim are just that - particulars. Evidence comes at a later stage .

Thanks everyone by the way for talking to me about this - whether you agree or not it's nice to hear from a mix of people.

Have you even got rights to appear as a non-lawyer? Assuuming you do, I hope your submissions are a lot a clearer than your post. For what it's worth lawyers try really hard to make their submissions easily understood rather annoying the judge with a jumbled mass of confusing material.

All CL will do if you do get it struck out, or they lose at the SCT Trial, is reissue against you as the hirer. Is it just £120.00 they are claiming? Did you include within your defence they have sued the wrong person? I wouldn’t issue a strike out app as it’s cheaper to pay the £120.00. You may not get it back if you succeed as it’s a SCT matter and run the risk of having to pay the £120.00 plus the issue fee (and fixed costs if they have legal rep) so you’ll be even more out of pocket. Plus the Listing Fee you refer to. I’d just cut your losses as it’s going to potentially cost you a lot more in the long run. You also don’t get any costs as a defendant in a SCT matter. Just the knowledge you have won unless you can prove unreasonable conduct. I’ve never seen this happen, and I doubt it will happen if CL is representing themselves.

Surely he expected the tablecloths to be used as tablecloths and food and drink stains are “ normal wear and tear”. I doubt many people would want to hire a venue where their guests’ messy eating might expose them to a claim for hundreds of ££ compensation.
Is this place on Trip Advisor? Or could you use Twitter etc to see if others have been subjected to vexatious claims?

For you friend's peace of mind - I'd pay this twat. Honestly, I thought I'd vomit at the injustice of paying that fucking fine, but once I paid it - done, dusted, they thought they won but I won really. I could still be disputing that bloody fine! I mean I did say 'I like wasting police time' lol. Oh God, maybe just pay the arsehole and have this as an anecdote to tell your grandchildren. Nobody is winning with a twat like him. Being the bigger person is sometimes reward in itself. Your friend will be relieved and believe me, you'll be relieved.

Don't assume I'm posting in the manner I've assembled the dispute response. It's very clearly set out in a detailed timeline with all supporting documents.

There are very few reviews but some of them suggest that the man is question is a nasty piece of work

I don't know if I can speak on his behalf at the hearing, but if I can't then I'll be one hell of a witness.

hallellis.co.uk/summary-judgment-applications-defences/

This sets out the details- you don’t need to wait until 14 days prior to the hearing- especially if you put him on notice (by writing to him) that unless he provides the evidence by X date you’ll apply for summary judgment. The court might give him one last chance by issuing a direction after you make the application too.

I don’t disagree that paying the madman off is also a legitimate way to proceed but if you’re not going to I’d definitely apply for SJ rather than wait for a trial.

Water damage to a tablecloth is quite a leap really lol.

But your friend is stressed, so pay the asshole.

Word of mouth (nothing in writing) about this venue, will cost him far more than a water spill on a tablecloth. Who the fuck sues someone for water damage to a tablecloth ffs? He's clearly deranged, so view it as a charitable act.

You WILL laugh about this in time to come.

He who has the last laugh wins ;)

It's been an interesting thread though!

That's a good idea and I'd like to think it might help, even if I don't intend to do it

Have you got a Notice of Hearing with a Hearing date? That will tell your friend the exact dates when both parties need to file key documents/bundles in support of their claim/Defence. A word of warning given your comment about being a robust witness, I would watch your ‘robustness’ as you’re likely to annoy the DJ and lose the claim for your friend. Keep to the facts, keep calm. Review once you have CL’s evidence and statement. Whose paying the £181 (or whatever it was) for the Listing Fee when it’s only for £120? If you don’t pay your friends Defence will be struck out. Is it definitely your friend who has to pay this or CL? I suspect CL. His court fees are recoverable if he wins, your friends won’t be if he successfully defends. I know it’s a bitter pill to swallow but look at the financials and decide whether it’s worth cutting off your nose for a hollow (and expensive) victory.

Free fishing! That's an excellent idea and sounds like it might eventually wear him down, he still hasn't read my dispute form because it's very detailed, so he doesn't realise how much we've already put together.

It's an N244 application and £275 fee. I'd just wait for hearing if I were you

@Heronwatcher. You'd pay £275 of your own money to apply for summary judgment (an application which is more likely than not to fail, because all the claimant has to prove is that he has a reasonable chance of success in the claim - a SJ hearing is NOT a hearing of that evidence; it is a determination of whether there is a properly arguable claim), rather than either pay the £120 claimed or just wait for the final hearing of the claim?

That is not sensible advice.

No date yet it's been transferred for direction.

What is the £181 listing fee? I'd assume CL pays it.

Yes Claimant pays listing fee and the claim will be struck out if they don't.

Fingers crossed he decides its not worth it! I don't think anyone has let him get this far with it before, so he probably might find this a surprise cost.

I don't have any procedural knowledge but surely if he rocks up at court claiming you irretrivably damaged some tablecloths by getting water on them he'll be laughed out of the building? I was expecting something like a broken window!