SERVING THE CLAIM FORM PROPERLY – THE DIRE PROBLEMS IF YOU DON’T, AND THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNT FROM GOOD LAW: WEBINAR 11th APRIL 2022

The decision of the Court of Appeal  today in The Good Law Project, R (On the Application Of) v The Secretary of State for Health And Social Care [2022] EWCA Civ 35 emphasises the need for all litigators to know, and apply, the rules relating to service of the claim form.  Since these problems are a regular issue on this blog I am presenting a webinar on the serving the claim form properly on the 11th April 2022. The webinar also looks at service under the Damages Claim Pilot.  Stop your case from going over the edge.  Booking details are available here. 

“… reliance on non-compliant service is not one of the instances of opportunism deprecated by the courts…The need for particular care in effecting valid service, particularly when there are tight time limits and/or a claimant is operating towards the end of any relevant limitation period, is self-evident.”

This webinar looks at:

•    The rules relating to service of the claim form.
•    Where and why claimants go wrong.
•    What steps can be taken to remedy matters.

“Provided that a defendant has done nothing to put obstacles in the claimant’s way, a potential defendant is under no obligation to give any positive assistance to the claimant to serve. The potential defendant can sit back and await developments”

A claimant cannot blame the defendant.

“there is no duty on a defendant to warn a claimant that valid service of a claim form has not been effected”

The Court of Appeal made it clear that the consequences of failure to serve properly are “harsh”, however a claimant who errs has a very limited expectation of assistance from the court.

“It is important to emphasise (again) that valid service of a claim form is what founds the jurisdiction of the court over the defendant. Parties who fail, without good reason, to take reasonable steps to effect valid service, in circumstances where a relevant limitation period is about to expire, expose themselves to the very real risk of losing the right to bring their claim.”

SERVICE OF PROCEEDINGS AND THE DAMAGES CLAIM PILOT

The webinar also looks at issues of service in relation to the Damages Claim Pilot