This Saturday Slot post is the seventh and final part of my weekly series of posts on Court Hearings (in the UK). You can see the others >> here.
After the hearing
You will probably think of lots of things you should have said! Don’t worry, we all do that.
If you missed the hearing
The Judge will probably (although not necessarily) have awarded the case to your opponent in your absence. You can telephone the court to find out what the decision is, although you will may have to hang on a long time before your call is answered.
If you had a genuine reason for not attending (for example if you had an accident on the way to the court) you may be able to get the decision set aside, and a new hearing listed. However you need to deal with this asap, and it is best to get some advice from a solicitor first or, better still, get them to make the application for you.
Appeals
If you are seriously unhappy about the decision the Judge made you should ask the Judge for permission to appeal. He will probably refuse, so you will need to seek legal advice immediately as there are time limits for putting in an application for the decision to be appealed (which means getting it is looked at again by a more senior Judge).
As mentioned in part 6, the solicitor advising you will want to know what the Judge said when he was giving his judgment. If you have not written this down, it will be difficult for him to help you. Sometimes the hearing will have been recorded, but getting transcripts done is time consuming and expensive.
If you have not made notes at the time the Judge was speaking (by far the best thing to do), write down as much as you can remember as soon as possible after the hearing. If you don’t do this quickly your memory will fade, and you will probably find it difficult to remember anything clearly.
The court order
The award or order made by the Judge (but not his speech beforehand about the case) will be typed up and sent to you later, sometimes as much as several weeks later (another reason why you should take care to write things down accurately).
For many types of hearing nowadays (for example possession hearings) the Judge fills in a pre printed form, and this is sent off to be typed, often in a completely different court. It is not unknown therefore, for errors to creep in. You should always check your court order very carefully when you receive it.
If you find an error (for example I have often come across possession orders which state that the order was made pursuant to a discretionary ground when in fact it was made under a mandatory ground – an important point), the thing to do is send the court order (or rather a copy of it) back to the court telling them what is wrong, and asking them to amend it.
They can do this under a rule known as the ‘slip’ rule. You will get the order back a week or so later with the wrong part crossed out in red and the correct wording written in, also in red.
If your opponent fails to comply with the order
You will have to enforce it! Sadly very many county court judgments remain unpaid. Getting a CCJ is not at all the same as getting the money. Often getting the money is far far harder than getting the decision.
Enforcement of judgments is a very long and complex subject in itself, and whole books have been written about it. I have a fair amount of information about this on my Landlord Law site, plus you will find helpful leaflets on the court service web-site.
In conclusion
I hope this short series has been helpful for you. If you want to bring a claim for rent arrears, or for possession of premises against tenants or squatters, I have several do it yourself kits which you can purchase. They all contain detailed instructions and a discussion forum where you can ask me question. Plus they all come with telephone support.
What is your experience of the matters discussed here? Have you had any instances of the court order being incorrect? Have you successfully been able to get a re-hearing where you missed the first hearing?
Note: Many thanks to Simon Parrott of Sharman Law Solicitors who proof read this series for me and made helpful comments.
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