CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES: VALUE OF CLAIM: CPR 16.3, PRACTICE DIRECTION 7A 3.5, FORM N1A: A COMPLETE MESS

Fixed Costs Zoominars

I am running three Fixed Costs Zoominars on the following dates:

– Tuesday, 16 January 2024: 4pm to 5pm

-Tuesday, 19 March 2024: 4pm to 5pm

-Tuesday, 14 May 2024: 4pm to 5pm

Recordings of the Zoominars will be sent whether or not you attend.

Cost £150 + VAT for all three with as many people as you want attending from your organisation.

Full course material – another £150.00 + VAT.

Course information link – https://kerryunderwood.co.uk/courses-and-seminars.html

Course booking form link – https://kerryunderwood.co.uk/zoominar-fixed-costs-choose-places.html

CPR 16.3(3) correctly states that in a claim for personal injuries, other than those arising from a Road Traffic Accident which occurred on or after 31 May 2021, a Claimant must state in the Claim Form whether the amount which they expect to recover as general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity is –

(a) not more than £1,500; or

(b) more than £1,500.

That of course reflects the fact that, outside the field of Road Traffic Accident matters, that is now the small claims limit in personal injury work.

Practice Direction 7A 3.5 has not been updated and reads:

“3.5  If a claim for damages for personal injuries is started in the County Court, the Claim Form must state whether or not the claimant expects to recover more than £1,000 in respect of pain, suffering and loss of amenity.”

Such failure to look at related Civil Procedure Rules and Practice Directions, and update them where necessary, is common.

Form N1A – Notes for Claimant on completing a Claim Form has not been updated either and still refers to having to say whether the damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity are either:

• ‘not more than £1,000’ or
• ‘more than £1,000’.

CPR 16.3 provides that the Claimant must, in the Claim Form, state:

“(a) the amount of money which he is claiming;

(b) that he expects to recover—

                (i)not more than £5,000;

                (ii)more than £5,000 but not more than £15,000; or

                (iii)more than £15,000; or

(c) that he cannot say how much he expects to recover.”

The requirements in CPR 16.3(3) already referred to is in addition to the requirements of CPR 16.3(1) and (2) in relation to a personal injury claim.

CPR 16.3(A) deals with personal injury claims arising from a road traffic accident where the small claims limit is £5,000.

Here is the relevant Section of Form EX50 – Guidance – Civil Court Fees – updated 6 October 2023.

Civil court fees (EX50) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Here is the overview:

This guide sets out a selection of civil court fees. See the full list of fees charged in the civil and family courts (EX50A).

The full lists of all court fees are contained in statutory instruments (SIs) known as fees orders and can be found at www.legislation.gov.uk

The court fees set out on this page apply to, and are the same in, the High Court and in county courts and family courts, unless otherwise stated. Your local court will be able to help you identify any fee not covered here.

Find out how to pay a civil or family court fee, get help with fees or get a refund.

Issuing claims

Money claims (civil fees order 1.1 to 1.2)

To issue a claim for money, the fees are based on the amount you are claiming, plus interest.

Value of your claim	Fee
Up to £300	£35
More than £300 but no more than £500	£50
More than £500 but no more than £1,000	£70
More than £1,000 but no more than £1,500	£80
More than £1,500 but no more than £3,000	£115
More than £3,000 but no more than £5,000	£205
More than £5,000 but no more than £10,000	£455
More than £10,000 but no more than £200,000	5% of the value of the claim
More than £200,000	£10,000

The bands of valuing the claim do not reflect the different tracks, that is the Fast Track and the Intermediate Track.

The band that encompasses them simply reads:

“More than £10,000 but no more than £200,000”

In a potential Fixed Recoverable Costs scheme case, do you have to give a statement of value of between £25,000 and £100,000, or what?

What court fee do you then pay?

5% of £100,000, even if the true range is say £30,000 to £60,000?

Parliament has a committee which constantly looks for errors in Statutory Instruments and inconsistencies between different Acts of Parliament and Statutory Instruments etc.

Surely it is time the Civil Procedure Rule Committee had such a sub-committee.

In fact, it may be better to put that task out to an external body as regrettably, the Civil Procedure Rules Committee inspires confidence in almost no one.