Dispute Resolution / Litigation Fact Sheet
This advice sheet gives you some general information about the services offered by Dicksons.
Dicksons is able to advise in the following areas:
- General Litigation, including consumer disputes.
- Contested Probate matters, including Inheritance Act claims.
- Property Disputes, including residential tenancy issues and Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996.
There are a number of protocols that can apply which set out the conduct expected of the parties and the steps the court would normally expect parties to take before commencing proceedings. Failure to comply with any of the specific pre-action protocol or the Practice Direction could result in the court applying sanctions, including as to costs, once a claim has been issued. Dicksons will advise and guide you through the process.
Dicksons is unlikely to able to assist with matters that are suitable for the small claims track at court, such as money claims with a value of less than £10,000.00.
Dicksons is able to advise as to bringing/commencing a claim or defending a claim. We will advise as to potential time limits that may apply.
It will be necessary to comply with the relevant pre-action protocol and enter into pre-action correspondence with the other side.
We are able to advise in relation to dispute resolution, including mediation.
At the outset we will advise you upon the funding of your case. This will include an estimate of our likely fees for carrying out the investigations. Our fees can be paid on a private fee-paying basis. Please see Client Care letter for details of our hourly rates. We do not offer fixed fees for Dispute Resolution/Litigation services but are able to discuss a budget for the process. Costs estimates may need revising as the matter progresses.
If you have Legal Expenses cover included within one of your insurance policies your Insurer may agree to fund your claim up to the limit of your indemnity under that policy. Usually, your Insurer will set an initial funding limit (a” reserve”) which is referred to in your Client Care Letter and which may be increased if appropriate. You should note that the limit of your indemnity and the reserve include not only your costs but those of your opponent. If your claim is successful, as the Defendant is usually ordered to pay your reasonable costs, the Insurers will be reimbursed any costs it has incurred. If your claim is unsuccessful the Insurers will pay your reasonable legal costs in accordance with the terms of your policy with them.
If the matter may be suitable for our firm acting on a no win no fee basis by entering into a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) with you, we will discuss this with you.
If a CFA is the chosen method of funding your claim the first point to note is that should your claim be unsuccessful you are unlikely to have to pay for the time that Dicksons have spent on this matter but please see agreement and accompanying Funding Sheet for more details. Please note that any disbursements incurred must be funded separately.
If your claim is funded by way of a CFA and is successful, the Defendant would generally be required to pay the basic costs of bringing the claim. As there is a risk that if you are unsuccessful in your claim we would not be paid, we are entitled to what is known as a “success fee” which is payable only if your claim succeeds. This is a percentage based on the risk we consider your claim to have and is set out in your Client Care Letter. The success fee cannot be recovered from your opponent and may be deducted from your compensation. Any shortfall in costs recovered may come from your compensation. However, we guarantee that we will not take more than 25% of past losses and general damages from your compensation to pay any shortfall.
If it is appropriate for you to enter into an After the Event (ATE) insurance policy to cover the costs of any disbursements if you were to lose the case (excluding Counsel’s fees) we will advise you of this. The costs of the ATE Premium may not be recoverable from the defendant.
If the circumstances of your claim and your financial circumstances indicate Legal Aid might be available, we will advise you of this, but we would be unable to continue acting. You would need to instruct a firm that would be able to then provide Legal Aid.
It is very difficult to give precise information about how long your case will take because each case depends on its circumstances. However, if your case had to be decided by a hearing in Court it could well take as long as 18 months to 2 years from start to finish. In some cases, where the evidence is complicated, it may even take longer than that.
Claims which are more straight forward or settled by agreement may be concluded in 6 to 12 months.
We promise to give all our clients as much information as possible about the progress of their cases, but you are always welcome to contact us for information and advice.
Even if it is necessary to begin your case in Court the vast majority of claims do not have to be decided at a hearing. This is either because settlement is achieved before the case goes to Court or the case has to be abandoned due to information coming to light revealing that the case is unlikely to succeed.
In the unlikely event that the case is decided at a Court hearing you would probably need to give evidence in support of the claim. We appreciate that giving evidence in Court can cause inconvenience and personal distress, but we will endeavour to guide you through the hearing process and avoid unnecessary problems.
After the case is started in Court, in many cases, each side will need to tell its opponent about the existence of documents which they have or have had, and which are relevant to the issues in the case. This process which is known as “disclosure” helps both sides to test the strength of their opponent’s case before it gets to Court. It can help in reaching a settlement therefore saving legal costs. If your case is started in Court we will give you careful advice about the disclosure procedure but suffice to say at this stage that it will be important for you to tell us about all documents which are relevant to the issues in your case.
We hope that this Dispute Resolution/Litigation advice sheet has been helpful but if you have any questions, you would be welcome to raise them with Mr. Jonathan Beresford Solicitor/Director.
