"Apply in writing for judgment" - how?

[northwest monkey]

Quick question - I'm the claimant & I was due in court this Thursday. I and the defendant had to respond by a certain date with details of my claim and his defence. I responded, the defendant didn't and as such his defence has been struck out and I no longer have to go to court.

I've had a letter from the court & the next step is for me to "apply in writing for judgement for the amount claimed (about £2250), plus interest (none), and costs (couple of hundred quid or so in MCOL fees / court hearing fees etc.). The application for judgment must be verified by a statement of truth. ("I believe that the facts stated in this application for judgment are true.")"

So, presumably I have to write a letter to the judge - what do I have to put?

Tried searching, but found lots of legal sounding links & nothing like a nice letter template!

Any help welcome (pretty much).

[Jasandjules]

You received a letter from the court with a part which said "judgment in default" on in - you just fill that form in and send it in. It was when your claim was issued ...

[Red Devil]

northwest monkey said:

Quick question - I'm the claimant & I was due in court this Thursday. I and the defendant had to respond by a certain date with details of my claim and his defence. I responded, the defendant didn't and as such his defence has been struck out and I no longer have to go to court.

You need to be clear what has happened here. Did the defendant simply fail to admit or defend the claim? If so you are applying for judgement in default. See below. A strike out is usually where the case is fatally flawed or there are no reasonable grounds for bringing or defending the claim. It is normally claimants who are subjected to this action due to ignoring order(s) of the court or submitting claims which prove to be without merit/lack documentation to the necessary standard.

northwest monkey said:

I've had a letter from the court & the next step is for me to "apply in writing for judgement for the amount claimed (about £2250), plus interest (none), and costs (couple of hundred quid or so in MCOL fees / court hearing fees etc.). The application for judgment must be verified by a statement of truth. ("I believe that the facts stated in this application for judgment are true.")"

So, presumably I have to write a letter to the judge - what do I have to put?

Assuming this is an application for judgment in default, see - http://uk.practicallaw.com/6-204-3071
Form N225 - http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/hmctsformfinder/...
Re the statement of truth, as well as the words you have quoted above you must also follow CPR 22 2.3(4)
https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/...

[northwest monkey]

Red Devil said:

northwest monkey said:

Quick question - I'm the claimant & I was due in court this Thursday. I and the defendant had to respond by a certain date with details of my claim and his defence. I responded, the defendant didn't and as such his defence has been struck out and I no longer have to go to court.

You need to be clear what has happened here. Did the defendant simply fail to admit or defend the claim? If so you are applying for judgement in default. See below. A strike out is usually where the case is fatally flawed or there are no reasonable grounds for bringing or defending the claim. It is normally claimants who are subjected to this action due to ignoring order(s) of the court or submitting claims which prove to be without merit/lack documentation to the necessary standard.

The letter says "Upon the defendant having failed to comply with the order dated 28/11 and accordingly the defendant's statement of case having been struck out, and upon it being noted that this is a claim for a specified amount:-

IT IS ORDERED THAT

The defence having been struck out, the hearing of the 15/12 is vacated and neither party is required to attend.

The claimant blah blah blah etc."

northwest monkey said:

I've had a letter from the court & the next step is for me to "apply in writing for judgement for the amount claimed (about £2250), plus interest (none), and costs (couple of hundred quid or so in MCOL fees / court hearing fees etc.). The application for judgment must be verified by a statement of truth. ("I believe that the facts stated in this application for judgment are true.")"

So, presumably I have to write a letter to the judge - what do I have to put?

Assuming this is an application for judgment in default, see - http://uk.practicallaw.com/6-204-3071
Form N225 - http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/hmctsformfinder/...
Re the statement of truth, as well as the words you have quoted above you must also follow CPR 22 2.3(4)
https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/...

[northwest monkey]

If it makes any difference, the letter was an "N24 - General Form of Judgment or Order".

Cheers

[Red Devil]

northwest monkey said:

The letter says "Upon the defendant having failed to comply with the order dated 28/11 and accordingly the defendant's statement of case having been struck out, and upon it being noted that this is a claim for a specified amount:-

IT IS ORDERED THAT

The defence having been struck out, the hearing of the 15/12 is vacated and neither party is required to attend.

The claimant blah blah blah etc."

Seems a bit odd that the N24 doesn't give any details of what the order was for. Are you completely in the dark?
I'm guessing that it may have been to file documents and/or pay a fee - http://hugginslaw.co.uk/cs/Satellite?blobkey=id&am...

Not sure if a N225 applies in the case of a strike out or, failing that, what form the application should take.
I would be very surprised to find it would be a just a letter. Courts don't really like random scribblings.
They prefer standardisation - i.e. orders/procedures/forms.
Best bet is to ring the court. The Clerk's office will be able to advise.

[Meoricin]

The N225 is what you need to send to the Court to request summary Judgment. If you fill it in, tick the boxes that say 'The Defendant has not responded to the claim' and 'The Defendant has not made any offer of payment', then Judgment should pretty much be granted for the amount you request.

There are default costs for summary Judgment, don't forget to include those on top of the Claim amount when filling in the form.

The Court striking out the Defendant's defence is likely due to failure to pay a fee or submit the defence in time; with the defence struck out it's as if the Defendant didn't file one at all.

[northwest monkey]

Meoricin said:

The N225 is what you need to send to the Court to request summary Judgment. If you fill it in, tick the boxes that say 'The Defendant has not responded to the claim' and 'The Defendant has not made any offer of payment', then Judgment should pretty much be granted for the amount you request.

There are default costs for summary Judgment, don't forget to include those on top of the Claim amount when filling in the form.

The Court striking out the Defendant's defence is likely due to failure to pay a fee or submit the defence in time; with the defence struck out it's as if the Defendant didn't file one at all.

Perfect - cheers!

I'll get that filled in & with a bit of luck give someone an early Christmas present they wont want.