Written by Laura Zverev, Associate in our Dispute Resolution department.
The importance of meeting deadlines
If you have instructed a solicitor to bring a civil litigation claim for you there are often strict deadlines that must be met. These will often by set by the court in a timetable to prepare the matter for a trial or set out in the court rules, which govern the management of civil litigation cases.
It is of imperative importance that court deadlines are met, as a failure to do so can have serious implications for your claim.
When the court sets down directions, the court will set out a list of steps that must be taken by certain dates. For example, there will be a deadline for the parties to an action to exchange all documents in their possession or control that are relevant to the claim. There will also likely be a date by which witness statements must be exchanged.
Usually, there will also be deadlines for other procedural matters, such as a costs and case management hearing where the court will set the directions and cap the costs a successful party may recover for each stage of the proceedings. Other procedural issues include a pre-trial review, which is a hearing to determine whether all directions have been complied with and to ensure that the matter is ready to proceed to a final trial.
It is very important that your solicitor ensures that any court deadlines such as those set out above are met as, in some cases, very serious sanctions can follow if they are missed. For example, if witness statements are not exchanged in time, the court rules provide that witness cannot rely on witness evidence without the permission of the court. If these circumstances arise, the court is very unlikely to give its permission unless a very good reason is provided. Simply forgetting or not completing the work in time will not suffice.
The Kevin Spacey case
As has been widely reported in the news, the actor Kevin Spacey has faced civil and criminal proceedings. His solicitors acting for him in the civil matter successfully applied to the court to pause the civil case for a period of three months, with time starting to run again after the criminal proceedings had concluded.
Following Kevin Spacey’s acquittal of the criminal charges, the three-month period began to run again in the civil matter, which meant that Kevin Spacey’s solicitors had three months to file a defence on his behalf. The solicitors mistakenly missed the deadline and as a result of their failure to file a defence, the claimant in those proceedings was able to obtain Judgment in Default against Kevin Spacey. In other words, they were able to apply to the court for an order that they be awarded damages and costs as Kevin Spacey (via his solicitors) had not complied with a court deadline.
The Judge in that case emphasised the importance of meeting court deadlines and the need for a good reason for a failure to do so in stating “There is no excuse for the date being overlooked”.
What can you do if your solicitor misses a deadline?
If it becomes apparent that your solicitor has missed a deadline, you may have a claim against your solicitor for professional negligence. In order to succeed in such a claim, you must be able to show that:
- Your solicitor owed you a duty of care.
- That duty of care was breached by your solicitor.
- The breach of the duty of care caused you to suffer a financial loss.
If you have entered into a contract with your solicitor instructing them to act for you in a civil matter, you will usually be able to show that your solicitor owed you a duty of care.
If a deadline has been missed, without good reason, you may also be able to show that the duty of care owed to you by your solicitor was breached.
In order to establish a claim, you will also need to show that the missed deadline has caused you to suffer a loss. You may also be able to establish this if you have been prevented from securing damages or compensation in your claim or your claim has been seriously adversely affected, for example, if you have been unable to rely on important evidence as a result of a failure to exchange witness statements in time.
Conclusion
The Kevin Spacey case demonstrates the importance of meeting deadlines and how seriously the court takes a failure to do so. If you believe your solicitor has missed an important deadline in your case, which has caused you to lose your claim, or suffer serious financial loss as a result of their negligence, don’t hesitate to reach out for professional guidance and support.
