Our Personal Injury Solicitors Discuss How 'Black And White' The Legal World Is.
Posted on 3rd April 2020
We’ve all been in a situation where something has gone awry, whether a company has not delivered an item as promised, another driver has crashed into our car, the bank has taken that direct debit even though you cancelled it or the roofer you employed hasn’t fixed the leak like he said he would.
MG Legal, your personal injury solicitor Garstang, is here to make sure things go right, or to help you put them right if it is wrong.
Legality is not a barrier to something happening
None of the above are, technically, legal in that they all involve an element of a breach of duty, contract, statute, common law or a combination of some or all elements. It is, in general, dependent on each party to honour their obligations to another. The same is true of criminal acts, there is a law saying that shoplifting is illegal, however, it does not prevent shoplifting, the law is simply a deterrent and a punishment.
Getting things right to start with
Our Property department, for example, handles numerous house purchases and sales every week. Our job here is to carry out all necessary procedures, raise enquiries and to advise our client on the process and developments. The idea being that the transaction is tied up in a contract and when that contract is exchanged, you know exactly what you are getting and that nothing will come back to haunt you later.
The same is true of our Wills and Probate team, who will ensure that you have a legally binding, crystal clear Will that sets out your wishes exactly, or that any Power of Attorney is exactly as you wish it to be. This eliminates any problems during the Probate process, so that the Will is easy to follow and there can be no arguments as to where any assets are to be distributed.
Setting things right
Usually, many of the above problems can be solved with a brief phone call or email, the roofer will probably come back and fix the problem, the bank will likely return your money and the company you ordered from will chase up their delivery provider. A pain and an inconvenience, but we all make mistakes. It is expected that we are all reasonable and do not “go off the deep end” when attempting to resolve a problem.
When things aren’t set right
This is where MG Legal, your personal injury solicitor Garstang comes in. If, say, the person who bumped your car has caused you injury, it is unlikely they will be able to pay for the damage and to then pay for any personal injury and associated losses. So, your next port of call is to instruct a personal injury solicitor to help you make a personal injury claim.
This principle applies to everything in the Civil sphere in one way or another, escalation is relatively slow and it is not considered reasonable to simple plough straight into Court Proceedings.
Where is the line drawn?
Obviously, not all matters will settle without the need for the Court’s involvement and so, again, there is expected to be leniency and flexibility on the part of both parties. One of the things that so frustrates us at MG Legal, your personal injury solicitor Garstang, is that extensions to deadlines are a matter of course nowadays.
Every deadline set by the Court has a caveat attached that an extension of 28 days can be agreed between the parties if it is so reasonable to agree it. Whilst there is a limit to the definition of ‘reasonable’ it is still incredibly wide and in general, declining the extension is a fruitless task. Your opponent simply files their document late and seeks the Court’s permission to do so. At best, the Court allows the Application to admit the late reply or evidence and at worst, your opponent is awarded costs of their Application and you get a ticking off for not allowing the extension in the first place.
Are final Judgements different?
A little, yes, but not entirely. Say a payment in settlement must be received by 01st May, after which date the paying party is in breach of a Court Order. Much the same as the examples at the head of this article, there is no immediate consequence against the party who has not complied. You can now take action, which is generally some type of enforcement procedure. Even the swiftest action will still take a few days to process and often the Court can be weeks behind in listing any Hearing necessary.
So, if the payment arrives on, say, 05th May, you might have paid your additional fee and paid for your solicitor’s time in drafting the Application, but the documents were only received at the Court today. So now you’re left with an Application or a Transfer Up for High Court Enforcement, but also payment in your hand.
Will the Court award you the additional costs anyway?
Not necessarily, a recent case at the Court of Appeal Khandanpour v Chambers, leniency way granted in the case of a late payment. Albeit the payment was only one day late, the Court ruled that some flexibility would have been wise, which perhaps made sense given only a few working hours had passed. Reading deeper into the background and it is actually the case that the debtor had breached two previous Orders and so was late by some months.
The wrong decision?
Arguably yes, although who are we to argue with the Court of Appeal? It is results such as this at the highest Courts in the land that lead us to have to have difficult conversations with out clients.
We appreciate that yes, certain things are supposed to be done by a certain date and yes, there are processes to compel your opponent to ‘toe the line’. However, with such uncertain results as this, we have found that allowing the debtor enough rope is generally the way forward. We also employ a policy of actively and belligerently chasing compliance or payment from your opponent.
Making the best of an imperfect system
MG Legal, your personal injury solicitor Garstang, appreciate that our clients all want the most favour outcome, as swiftly as possible. This is why we will always make ourselves available to our clients to ensure they understand why something is happening and what we intend to do to make sure their opponent responds or makes payment as quickly as possible. We will do our very best to make the grey areas clear so that you have absolute confidence in the way your case is being handled.
We do, of course, make Applications for Orders from the Court compelling opponents to comply, with appropriate sanctions if they do not and we are no strangers to using various Enforcement tactics for debts including the (as seen on TV) High Court Enforcement process.
So, if you have any kind of legal problem, or need representation, contact MG Legal by phone, email, web-contact form or at one of our offices in Garstang, Lancaster or Longridge. We aim to accept all Personal Injury claims on a Conditional Fee Agreement (no win, no fee agreement) basis and the vast majority of our other services are offered on a fixed fee basis. We will ensure that you speak to the right member of our team and receive the correct advice so we can get the ball rolling on your case straight away.
Why choose MG Legal, No Win No Fee Solicitors?
Clear, fixed-fees
Fully-Qualified No Win No Fee Solicitors
Tailored Service
Multiple Office Locations
Decades of Experience
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