FAO Buenchico and Barmaid.......

[ELVIS68]

Following on from my other thread regarding my court case, I have since received this letter from the Insurance companys solicitors...it reads as follows

We note that a disposol hearing has been listed on such and such date against the second defendant (Insurance company)
A disposal hearing is not appropriate in this case since liability has been denied in the Defence and judgement has not been entered against the second defendant.

We request that this case is listed for a small claims hearing at the first available date after such and such date with an estimated hearing time of 2 hours.

They have also sent a consent order for me to sign and return to agree to this

Any ideas?

[Buenchico]

When, last night, I said that I'd try to remain sober enough to answer your question, I forget to specify a deadline before I'd open the wine. I'm rather further into this bottle of cheap South African red than I should be when answering law questions ;-)

However, it seems that the insurance company (or, more precisely, their solicitors) have got a valid point. The purpose of a 'disposal hearing' is to determine the amount to be paid (and the method of payment) when either liability has been admitted or a judgement has been given against the defendant. Since neither has occurred, the court officials appear to have made an administrative error. (If the disposal hearing took place, the solicitors could simply show that they'd never admitted liability, or had a judgement made against their client. That would just delay matters).

They appear to be making a perfectly sensible suggestion, by stating that the matter should be handled by the Small Claims Track. Unless Barmaid posts to the contrary, I can see no reason why you shouldn't sign the consent order. (You won't get any money until the court has given judgement, so it seems to be in your interest to get the matter brought before a court as soon as possible).

Chris

[ELVIS68]

But a date`s already been set for a hearing...why are they asking for a later hearing?

I`ve rang the court to ask what this means but they say they can`t give advice regarding court cases

[Buenchico]

It sounds as if the papers served on the solicitors, by the court, have been wrongly worded. (i.e. they've been told it's a disposal hearing, when you've been told it's a Small Claims Track hearing).

Contact the court again, simply asking if the date you've been given is for your case to be heard, or for a disposal hearing. (That's not 'giving advice'; it's simply reading what appears on their lists). If it's a disposal hearing, there's obviously something wrong. (If so, sign the document you've been sent, so that a date for a 'proper' hearing can be set). If it's a date for you to submit your case, and for the solicitors to present their defence, contact the solicitors to advise them of this.

Chris

[ELVIS68]

Hi Chris, went to C.A.B today and was told not to bother signing the papers as the disposal hearing will be for the judge to decide how much the Insurance company have to pay whereas if I sign and agree for a later date it`ll just give them longer to argue the case

This whole saga is p!ssing me off bigtime, all I want is my money back for a TV which packed up after 14 months!