Directions Questionnaires and Allocation
| Author | Patricia Pearl/Tim Parker |
| Pages | 71-85 |
Chapter 4
Directions Questionnaires and Allocation
4.1 INTRODUCTION
Basics
• The case will usually be allocated to the small claims track if it meets the financial qualifications for that track
• The parties are all required to return completed directions questionnaires to the court before the judge can make an allocation decision
• Some cases may require an allocation hearing
4.2 WHAT DOES ‘ALLOCATION’ MEAN?
The rules recognise that not all cases need the same treatment in preparation for a hearing and not all cases need a formal or lengthy trial. To cater for this variety, and to ensure that procedures are proportionate to the value of the claim, the rules create three distinct categories of case. Once the judge knows what the claim and defence involve, they can assign, or allocate, the case to the most suitable category. This process is termed ‘allocation’.
4.3 WHAT IS A ‘TRACK’?
The three case management categories are termed ‘tracks’. They are shown in the following table.
72 Small Claims Procedure in the County Court
Track Normally used for
Small claims track
CPR Part 27
Fast track
CPR Part 28
Multi-track
CPR Part 29
Once a case has been allocated to a track, the management of the case and the hearing are in accordance with the rules for that track.
4.4 HOW DOES A CASE QUALIFY FOR THE SMALL CLAIMS TRACK?
The financial ceiling for most cases is £10,000.
The small claims track is the normal track if a claim:
• is for £10,000 or less;
• does not include a claim by a tenant of residential premises against a landlord for harassment or unlawful eviction;
• does not include a claim by a tenant of residential premises against a landlord for an order to make them carry out repairs or other works and either the cost of those repairs or the damages claimed are over £1,000.
The small claims track cannot be used for a claim for possession of land, unless all the parties agree that it should be.
4.4.1 Personal injury claims (and the Portal)
Where a claim about personal injury is made the overall ceiling of £10,000 applies, but even within that limit the small claims track is the normal track only if:
Cases up to £10,000 in value subject to specific exceptions in personal injury and housing claims
Cases above the small claims limit (see above) but of not more than £25,000 in value and where the case can be heard in one day or less
Cases which do not qualify for the small claims or fast track including all cases of over £25,000 in value
• either the claim relates to a road traffic accident, the personal injury element is worth no more than £5,000, and the Portal procedure applies;
• or the personal injury element is worth no more than £1,000.
With effect from 31 May 2021 a new procedure was introduced which requires many victims of road traffic accidents who suffer modest injuries, including whiplash injuries, to make claims against insurers using an online system or Portal before they start a court case.
Chapter 13 explains the Portal, its exceptions and qualifications and the procedures which apply. For example, the Portal is not applicable if the victim is a pedestrian or motorcyclist
4.5 PRINCIPLES OF ALLOCATION – THE COURT IS IN CHARGE
When deciding the track for a claim, the matters to which the court shall have regard include:
(a) the financial value of the claim, if any;
(b) the nature of the remedy sought;
(c) the likely complexity of the facts, law or evidence;
(d) the number of parties or likely parties;
(e) the value of any counterclaim or other CPR Part 20 claim and the complexity of any matters relating to it;
(f) the amount of oral evidence which may be required;
(g) the importance of the claim to persons who are not parties to the proceedings;
(h) the views expressed by the parties; and
(i) the circumstances of the parties.
It is for the court to assess the financial value of a claim, and in doing so it will disregard:
(a) any amount not in dispute;
(b) any claim for interest;
(c) costs; and
(d) any contributory negligence.
See CPR 26.8(1) and (2).
74 Small Claims Procedure in the County Court
As well as the factors set out above, the judge will have the overriding objective firmly in mind (see paragraph 5.2 and Appendix 7), including the need to achieve justice by dealing with the case in a manner which is proportionate (CPR 1.1(2)(c)). Most types of case can be sensibly managed by small claims directions, even those which the parties may find complex or difficult. It is the essence of the small claims procedure that a case can be kept in proportion by stripping the pre-hearing procedure to its essentials.
4.6 A CLAIM NOT EXCEEDING £10,000
The amount in dispute is the factor primarily taken into account in deciding whether the case qualifies for the small claims track (CPR 26.6 and 26.8(1)).
The judge looks at the amount which the claimant states as the claim. If the claim is limited to a particular figure, the court cannot treat it as having a higher value.
If the claim is put at an unrealistically high figure, the judge may make their own assessment of its likely value.
It is the disputed amount which is considered for allocation purposes. If a claim starts for, say, £12,000 and the defendant then admits or pays £8,000 before allocation, the case will qualify for the small claims track (CPR PD 26, paragraph 7.4) (see also paragraph 9.8, question 5).
4.6.1 Housing claims
Some claims made by a tenant of residential premises against the landlord cannot be allocated to the small claims track even though they are valued at less than £10,000 (see paragraph 4.4).
Claims by assured shorthold tenants against landlords who have not protected their deposits are subject to special rules. Unlike almost all other claims below the small claims track financial limit, they are required to be issued under...
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