Great Result at Trial for Defendant Credit Hire Team
Carpenters Group is celebrating another strong result at trial, delivering a significant saving for our client Markerstudy Group, and reinforcing the expertise of our Defendant Credit Hire team.
The case also serves as a timely reminder for practitioners on both sides of the fence of the importance of understanding and complying with the Court’s directions. In this case, the Claimant had served her evidence a day late which resulted in the claim being dismissed in full.
The case concerned a disputed liability claim with a pleaded value of more than £27,000, with the bulk of the claim comprising of credit hire charges but also including, repairs and recovery and storage costs.
Despite the level of the claim being above the nominal Fast Track limit, Carpenters’ Defence Team successfully secured an allocation to the Small Claims Track, ensuring the matter was managed proportionately and efficiently from the outset and significantly reducing the client’s costs risk in running the case to trial.
At trial, a key issue arose around procedural compliance. The claimant was required under the directions order to serve witness evidence and documentation no later than 14 days before the hearing. However, these documents were served late. It seems that the Claimant had included the trial date itself when calculating the 14 day period for service, meaning that when they did file and serve their documentation, including witness statements, this was one day out of time.
Counsel was instructed to take the point before the trial commenced. The court agreed the Claimant required relief from sanctions and permitted an oral application, but this was subsequently dismissed. As a result, the claimant was left without admissible witness evidence or documentation to rely upon.
Following a further application by counsel, the court dismissed the claim in its entirety. In addition, a show cause application was made in relation to counsel’s brief fee. The court allowed the claimant’s counsel time to take instructions, following which they agreed to pay the majority of the brief fee, further increasing the overall saving achieved.
This outcome represents a particularly strong result, delivering a substantial financial saving for our client, while underlining the importance of robust procedural discipline and early strategic decision-making in credit hire litigation.
A special well done to Chris Dibb and the wider Defendant Credit Hire team for their focus, attention to detail and determination in seeing this claim through to a successful conclusion.
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