NEW RULES RELATING TO "NEUTRAL EVALUATION" ; LITIGANTS IN PERSON; ASSESSMENT; SPECIALIST FINANCIAL LIST (AND MORE…)

New rules have been introduced which (for the most part) come into force on the 1st October 2015.  Here we look at the key changes.

THE RULES

The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.4) Rules 2014 were laid before Parliament on the 24th July 2015. The link to the Regulations is here.

The explanatory memorandum is available here.

EARLY NEUTRAL EVALUATION

There is an addition to CPR 3.1.(2)(m). This rules relates to the court’s general powers of management. At the moment this reads:

“(m) take any other step or make any other order for the purpose of managing the case and furthering the overriding objective.”

The new rule adds to the end of this “including hearing an Early Neutral Evaluation with the aim of helping the parties settle the case”. 

CASE MANAGEMENT: UNREPRESENTED PARTIES: NEW CPR 3.1.A.

There are specific new rules which deal with directions and procedure when one party is unrepresented.

“Case management – unrepresented parties

3.1A.—(1) This rule applies in any proceedings where at least one party is unrepresented.

(2) When the court is exercising any powers of case management, it must have regard to the fact that at least one party is unrepresented.

(3) Both the parties and the court must, when drafting case management directions in the multi-track and fast track, take as their starting point any relevant standard directions which can be found online at www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil and adapt them as appropriate to the circumstances of the case.

(4) The court must adopt such procedure at any hearing as it considers appropriate to further the overriding objective.

(5) At any hearing where the court is taking evidence this may include—

(a) ascertaining from an unrepresented party the matters about which the witness may be able to give evidence or on which the witness ought to be cross-examined; and

(b) putting, or causing to be put, to the witness such questions as may appear to the court to be proper.”

FILING PARTICULARS OF CLAIM

CPR 7.4 is amended to ensure that a claimant not only serves particulars of claim but lodges them at court.

FILING COSTS BREAKDOWN WHEN DETAILED ASSESSMENT COMMENCED

There is an addition to the requirements of CPR 47.6 with a requirement in a new CPR 47.6.(1)(c) to file a breakdown of the costs claimed for each phase of the proceedings when a costs management order has been made.

“(c) if a costs management order has been made, a breakdown of the costs claimed for each phase of the proceedings”.

NEW SPECIALIST LIST

A new CPR 36A introduces a new “Financial List” dealing with claims where the action is in relation to banking and principally relates to

“…loans, project finance, banking transactions, derivatives and complex financial products, financial benchmark, capital or currency controls, bank guarantees, bonds, debt securities, private equity deals, hedge fund disputes, sovereign debt, or clearing and settlement, and is for more than £50 million or equivalent;

(b) requires particular expertise in the financial markets; or

(c) raises issues of general importance to the financial markets.

(3) “Financial markets” for these purposes include the fixed income markets (covering repos, bonds, credit derivatives, debt securities and commercial paper generally), the equity markets, the derivatives markets, the loan markets, the foreign currency markets, and the commodities markets.

THE LIST

• The list is a single specialist list and can be commenced in the Commercial Court or the Chancery Division in London.
• Upon issue the action will be allocated to a designated judge who is a Financial List judge.