Whilst litigation is naturally a contentious process it remains a requirement that the parties in dispute are to assist the court and their opponent understand the points being raised in any claim, defence or counterclaim.  It is sometimes the case that points made by a party (often in defence to a claim) are not at all clear and so there is a process in place to enable parties to seek clarification such that they might better understand what their opponent is seeking to say.   

This Legal Update focuses the court procedure that can be used during proceedings where one party may require either clarification on “any matter which is in dispute in the proceedings” or “additional information in relation to any such matter”.

The process is provided and governed under Part 18 of the Civil Procedure Rules (“the CPR”) and CPR Practice Direction 18 - Further Information (“PD”). 

Set out below is a more detailed explanation of what constitutes a Part 18 Request, why you may need to make use of it and, if you do, what the procedure is for making the Request. 

What is a Part 18 Request?

CPR 18.1(1) gives the Court the power a party to

(a)          clarify any matter which is in dispute in the proceedings; or

(b)          give additional information in relation to any such matter,

whether or not the matter is contained or referred to in the pleadings relating to the case.

The party who is seeking the clarification or additional information will need to apply to the Court seeking an Order of the Court requiring their opponent to provide further clarification/information on the points that they are raising.    Before that, however, the party will need to make a written request to their opponent for that further clarification/information.

Why would you need to make a Part 18 Request?

As a landlord, RTM or RMC you may from time to time need to issue a claim in the County Court against a property owner who is in breach of their lease/agreement. The errant property owner may respond to the claim with a defence but the points raised are confusing or do not make sense. In such circumstances you need the property owner to clarify those points so you can understand their position and respond accordingly.  You would do that by following the procedure set out below.

Additionally, and tactically, the Part 18 Request can also be used to highlight to your opponent weaknesses in their case.

What is the process of making a Part 18 Request

The Request

In accordance with PD 18 1.1 (see here), the initial step for a party seeking clarification or information (the “First Party”) is to serve on the party from whom they are seeking that clarification or information (the “Second Party”) a written request for it (the “Request”).  The Request must provide the Second Party with a deadline for responding and they must be given a reasonable time frame to respond. That time period can of course vary depending upon the nature of the requests made.

The Request:-  

• Should be concise and strictly confined to matters which are reasonably necessary and proportionate (PD 1.2); 

• Must be contained in a single document (as far as that is possible) (PD 1.3);

• Must be headed with the name of the court and the title and number of the claim (PD 1.6(1)(a));

• In its heading it must state that it is a Request made under CPR Part 18, identify the First Party and the Second Party and state the date on which it is made (PD 1.6(1)(b)). 

Response to the Request

A Response to a Request must be in writing, dated and signed by the Second Party or his legal representative (PD 2.1).  If the document containing the Request includes a section for the second party to respond then they can provide their response on that document.  If the First Party has not provided such a document or the Second Party chooses not to provide their Response on the document then their response must be headed with the name of the court and the title and number of the claim and in its heading identify itself as a response to that Request (PD 2.3(a) & (b)).

The Second Party must, when he serves the Response, serve on every other party (if any) and file with the court a copy of the Request and his Response (PD 2.4).

If the Second Party objects to complying with the Request or part of it or is unable to do so at all or within the time stated in the Request they must inform the First Party promptly and in any event within that time (PD 4.1).

Applications for orders under Part 18

If the Second Party fails to respond to the Request or does but the response fails to sufficiently answer the Request, then the First Party can apply to the court under CPR 18.1 for an Order requiring the Second Party to properly respond to the First Party’s Request.

The process for applying to the Court is set out under PD 18(5) as follows. 

The application notice for an order under Part 18 should set out or have attached to it the text of the order sought and in particular should specify the matter or matters in respect of which the clarification or information is sought (PD 5.2).

If a party has already made a Request for the information or clarification then they need to describe the response in their application if they have received a response (PD 5.3(2)). 

If the Second Party failed completely to respond to the Request then the First Party is not required to serve the application notice on the Second Party and the court may deal with the application without a hearing (PD 5.5(1)).  However, PD 5.5(2) states that PD 5.5(1) only applies if at least 14 days have passed since the Request was served and the time stated in it for a response has expired.

If the Second Party did respond to the Request but not in a satisfactory way, hence the need for application under CPR Part 18, then the application notice must be served on the Second Party and, where relevant, on all other parties to the claim (PD 5.6).

An order made under Part 18 must be served on all parties to the claim (PD 5.7).

Conclusion

Thankfully the need to make Part 18 Requests for Further Information are rare but where they are required it is important that they are handled correctly and in line with the rules as tactically they can be very useful in either bringing a claim to an early end or in potentially increasing the liability of the other party for costs at the end of a matter.   We would be happy to assist with the preparation of Part 18 Requests and applications to the Court under CPR 18.1 if this is something you may require assistance with now or in the future.

Disclaimer

This Legal Update describes the position in law as at the date of this article and care should be taken to note any subsequent amendments to the position as set out above.  The Legal Update is provided free of charge for information purposes only; it does not constitute legal advice and should not be relied on as such. No responsibility for the accuracy and/or correctness of the information and commentary set out in the article, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed or accepted by any member of KDL Law or by KDL Law as a whole.