perjury by expert witness

[chris-charn]

As a small trader I sold a vehicle to a customer, on the day of viewing, it experienced a starting problem, which was a simple glow plug repair, the customer accepted it, and purchased, and i gave him the money to have the plugs repaired. The following day he towed the vehicle to a garage without the engine running, and crashed it into the towcar due to the fact the brakes would not work without servo assistance from a normally running engine.
He continued the journey to the mechanic ( his friend), and the engine is now overheated, burnt out and useless. He is now suing me for a refund plus costs as he claims the engine was like this when he bought it. I worked out he must have driven the vehicle after water was lost from the radiator during the crash to the garage He employed an expert witness who amongst other lies claimed he could not see how the engine would start after the accident if it wouldnt start before the accident. which sounds plausible on the face of it, the intention being to make the court believe it wasnt driven without water after the accident, however in an earlier statement, speaking of the plaintiffs friend and mechanic shortly after the accident he said, " he started the engine using easy start" it ran for 20 minuets and was reasonably smooth, clearly contradicting his earlier statement. This then is clearly perjury , I pointed out it was evidence from an unreliable witness two years ago and the solicitors simply left me alone for almost two years, then all of a sudden restarted the claim. They use a section 36 to effectively put a gun to my and my families head, pay us 10k+ now out of court, or we take you to court where you could pay 20k+ in additional costs. either sum would put me out of business, This would be normal but They know his statement is full of lies but use the court to effectively blackmail and put pressure on me. Any suggestions from anyone in the legal world ?

[TWR]

With respect, I would have sorted the glow plug out before selling or letting the Vehicle go, I presume he/she drove the car home? where did he / she tow the car from? your Garage or his/her home? I would have thought it was Illegal to tow the car if the car's engine was not running intern causing no braking, the car should have been suspended toed. before the sale has anyone else looked & tried the car? if so you could asked them to witness that the car was OK. regards the easy start, he /she has shot themselves in the foot with this statement. what I think they have done here is to contact the No-win-no-pay rip off merchants, I would suggest that you would be prepared to take a polygraph test & will they do the same? & 2 years! that speaks for it all, they are trying to take the pizzz, good luck & sue the basds.

[TWR]

Towed.

[jackthehat]

There seem to be two distinct parts to your question;

Is this sum of £10,000 in respect of the Legal Fees you accrued during a court case?
Did you have an agreement with your solicitors for the fees prior to the court case?

Secondly; Did you win or lose the case?

[chris-charn]

Hi Guys thanks for the support, the case hasnt quite got to court yet, hearing is a month or so away. the game seems to be that even if your case is a good one, there is always a chance you can lose in court, the solicitor plays on that fear, and gets you to pay x thousands to avoid even going to court. they demand 12k in total which is largely their fees to their client to date, plus the cost of a refund for the vehicle. If I dont win in court I could end up paying interest on that money since it happened, plus additional court costs, which could amount to twice that amount, so the pressure to pay the 12k is huge, and they know that. The legal system is geared up so people settle ( fairly ) out of court . The difference in this case is that their evidence is from an expert witness who is bent, who claims his findings are impartial, but in reality he is in corroboration with his friend the solicitor who gets him lots of work.
I have offered already to put a new engine in the vehicle,even though I know its been deliberately overheated by the mechanic who has done it to avoid the blame, he should have changed the plugs at the customers home , instead of allowing him to tow it. I live 250 miles away hence I gave the customer the money to employ his friend to do it at the time.
I am an honest person, I dont deal in used cars, we are a tiny family business converting vans into campervans, we do an honest days work for a very modest return which barely keeps the mortgage and the business overheads paid. I dont take any salary , I feed myself and the family and pay the bills, so even 12k is a lot.
Because of the illegality of it , it becomes like fraud, or demanding money with menaces, they use their knowledge of the system and pervert the course of justice for financial gain. Its circumstances like this that can lead to business closures with job loss, some people even take their own lives so the consequences of their lies can have serious knock on effects which quite frankly they dont give a damn about as long as they get their money.

[samak]

You are right - they are trying to scare you into paying up. For 12k, I would take my chances even though the outcome is uncertain.

[jackthehat]

Right, so it's *his* legal team and not yours.........

They are paid to bluff and bluster and intimidate you into settling out of court. If you believe that you have right on your side, tell them to continue with the court case.
You may need to engage your own expert witness to rebut theirs. Get proper legal advice, but *do* try to keep things in proportion and don't panic.

[TWR]

Hi Chris

It seem a good storey for Quinton from the Sunday Mirror ( The car advise person) I would contact him Via his web site & give him all the details, at the same time contact the people that are trying to sue you & tell them your intentions. can you get any witnesses that the person you are on about is a Lier?

[TWR]

Quinton Wilson, Sunday Mirror.

[chris-charn]

Thats not a bad idea, this all helps people, im gaining confidence, just contacted local police and they say they will investigate allegations of perjury,
i thought the court had to order it but thats not the case, Thank you to everyone who has answered, thanks also to buenchico who answered someone elses question which inspired me to come on here, keep solution and thought coming they are all helpfull to the cause of justice