The three tracks

All defended cases are allocated to one of three tracks:

• Small Claims Track: Most claims under £10,000. Note: the normal limit for housing disrepair cases and personal injury claims is £1,000.^[2]
• Fast Track: Between £10,000 to £25,000
• Multi Track: Claims for over £25,000, or for lesser money sums where the case involves complex points of law and/or evidence.

The Jackson Reforms of 2013 altered the upper limit of the small claims track and the lower limit of the fast track, from £5,000 to £10,000.^[3]

Civil Courts

Civil matters are heard at first instance (i.e. not appeals) in either the County Court or High Court. The County Court hears all Small Claim and Fast Track cases. County Court centres designated as 'civil trial centres' may also deal with claims allocated to the Multi Track. Unless the parties agree, cases above £100,000 in value are not usually tried in the County Court.

The High Court has three divisions, namely:

• King's Bench: for contract and tort claims
• Chancery: for disputes involving equity matters such as mortgages, trusts, copyrights, and patents.
• Family: for matrimonial-related disputes and cases relating to children.

Small Claims procedure

Cases are heard by a District Judge who will normally use an interventionist approach. This is an approach that allows the court to try to intervene in helping the parties to agree with one another in sorting out the case. Cases are dealt with in a relatively informal way and are now heard in open court (prior to the 1999 reforms small claim cases were heard in private). The use of solicitors is discouraged because the costs of legal representation cannot be recovered from the losing side. There may be a paper adjudication if the judge thinks it appropriate and the parties agree. This approach will often be used where the legal issues and evidence is clear cut, and the parties bring documents they wish to use. In such cases the court will decide the case 'on the papers' without requiring oral evidence or legal argument.

Fast Track procedure

All other cases require a process of 'Pre-Trial Directions' being a timetable for the ongoing management of the case. The idea is to simplify the case for the court. The Fast Track mandates a maximum delay of 30 weeks between the setting of Directions, and the trial date. Normally only one expert witness is allowed and, if the parties cannot agree on an expert, the court has the power to appoint one. The expert's evidence will be given in writing. There are fixed costs for the advocate at the trial.

Multi Track procedure

There is no standard procedure for Pre-Trial Directions in the Multi Track, and the judge has discretion to use a number of case management approaches, including case management conferences and pre-trial reviews. The aim is to identify the issues as early as possible and, where appropriate, to try specific issues prior to the main trial. The number of expert witnesses is controlled by the court as its permission is needed for any party to use an expert to give evidence. All time limits are strictly enforced. The court may in the directions fix a trial date, or order a trial window (approximate date for the trial) with a date being fixed by the court closer to the trial window period. In the Multi Track there is usually some degree of flexibility to shift the date of a specific direction but, once a trial date is fixed, the court is very unlikely to agree to an adjournment without a compelling reason.