Service & Amendment of Claim Forms - Avoiding Problems & Pitfalls

Introduction

CPR 6 and 7, the rules about service of the claim form, form a tricky section of the Civil Procedure Rules. Every year, applications are made, and decisions reported where the claimant is trying to avoid the consequences of defective service or asking for some latitude to be shown regarding its attempted service.

Equally troubling is the area of the amendment of claims after service, the need for which can sometimes occur extremely late in the litigation process. This may be due to a good reason or to correct an oversight. When will courts permit the amendment of a claim and which tests must be satisfied?

Aimed at lawyers involved in pursuing or defending civil claims, this virtual classroom session will provide an outline of the main rules on service and the amendment of claims. It will work as a refresher, as well as updating delegates on recent cases.

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive session will cover the following:

Service of a Claim Form

• The two-fold purpose behind the service of a claim form
• Served only with a seal (Clewer v Higgs & Sons)
• The usual residence rule
• Problems in locating a defendant's last known address and the reasonable steps required to be taken to do so (Goodfellow v Warren Boyes & Archer and Jeffrey v Teevan)
• Where the claimant does enough (Agrofirma Oniks LLC v ABH Ukraine)
• Extensions and where a claim form had expired before service: Phipps v Goulbourne
• The imminent consultation about service of a claim form by email

Amending a Claim Form

• Amending a Claim Form after service - ‘the modern approach’
• Why different results occur in similar situations
• Rule restrictions on the amendment of a claim
• A memorable mnemonic
• What is the difference between being 'late’, 'very late' and too late?
• Why a ‘very late’ application to amend with material trial impact was allowed in Salt Ship Design AS v Prysmian Powerlink SRL
• But a ‘late’ one was not in KMG International Limited NV v Chen - because of its disruptive effect
• The significance of prejudice to the other party if permission is given (Invest Bank v El Husseini)

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.