When disputes arise as to the validity of wills, the evidence of the deceased's solicitors can be crucial. In a recent High Court case concerning whether a woman had capacity to revoke her will , the Court attached considerable importance to the evidence of...
There has been an important update to the Civil Procedure Rules (Part 3 - 88th Update) which will have an impact on any claim you might make in the County Court or High Court.
As of 6 March 2017, should a case settle before trial but a Notice to Pay Hearing Fee or notification of the trial date has been issued by the Court, there will no longer be a refund in part or at all of the Hearing Fee paid. All Hearing Fees must be paid no less than 28 days before Trial.
To compound the problem, in the event that a Hearing Fee is not paid 28 days before a trial (whether a Notice to Pay has been issued or not), the claim (or counterclaim as appropriate) will be automatically struck out. There will be no Unless Order made first and no warning of the failure to pay given. Defendant’s will be able to remind the Court to check for payment and to “nudge” the Court to strike out.
The Hearing fees themselves have not, so far, been changed and remain at between £25 - £335 on the Small Claims Track (where the damages claimed, excluding Personal Injury, - £0 - £10,000.00), £545.00 for Fast Track Cases (where the damages claimed are between £10,000.00 - £25,000.00) and £1090.00 in Multi Track cases ( where the damages claimed are over £25,000.00).