Small claims court, what does this mean?
Discussion
I've been waiting since January for some action on my case. Just says mental health moratorium or something?
I started a money claim online against a popular airline for a flight delay which they denied. I provided plenty of evidence, screenshots etc. and the initial reply from the court was quite helpful, in light of my evidence a judge ordered the airline company to prove it's response that the plane was not late, gave them a month.
They provided a brief reply that didn't prove anything so I applied (online again) for judgment.
Haven't heard anything since,, 7 months later. When I look at my MCOL login it just has the following page, nothing I can click on to chase up. What can I do to get things moving? Has the defendant (the airline) applied for a mental health break or is that just a standard phrase?
Never had these sort of delays with MCOL before, used it a few times:
I started a money claim online against a popular airline for a flight delay which they denied. I provided plenty of evidence, screenshots etc. and the initial reply from the court was quite helpful, in light of my evidence a judge ordered the airline company to prove it's response that the plane was not late, gave them a month.
They provided a brief reply that didn't prove anything so I applied (online again) for judgment.
Haven't heard anything since,, 7 months later. When I look at my MCOL login it just has the following page, nothing I can click on to chase up. What can I do to get things moving? Has the defendant (the airline) applied for a mental health break or is that just a standard phrase?
Never had these sort of delays with MCOL before, used it a few times:
If there’s no option to enter judgment, looks like the claim has fallen into a black hole. The judge may have stayed the action pending a response from the Defendant but as time has passed, nothing further has been done.
I’d call the Court to see if they can kick it out or make an unless order eg unless the defender provides a response by X date, judgment is entered against them.
I’d call the Court to see if they can kick it out or make an unless order eg unless the defender provides a response by X date, judgment is entered against them.
KungFuPanda said:
If there’s no option to enter judgment, looks like the claim has fallen into a black hole. The judge may have stayed the action pending a response from the Defendant but as time has passed, nothing further has been done.
I’d call the Court to see if they can kick it out or make an unless order eg unless the defender provides a response by X date, judgment is entered against them.
Thanks that's helpful I will call (Liverpool Crown Court?) I’d call the Court to see if they can kick it out or make an unless order eg unless the defender provides a response by X date, judgment is entered against them.
A lot of airlines were holding off paying compensation whilst they were waiting for a ruling on liability for delays caused by crew sickness. The ruling went against the airlines.
I haven’t read the ruling so no idea if they can appeal and drag it out further but I suspect your claim was stayed due to this case and may progress now.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2024/07/fli...
Edit: that was final appeal to supreme court so no appeal so chase them up for payment.
I haven’t read the ruling so no idea if they can appeal and drag it out further but I suspect your claim was stayed due to this case and may progress now.
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2024/07/fli...
Edit: that was final appeal to supreme court so no appeal so chase them up for payment.
Edited by LordLoveLength on Thursday 15th August 12:24
Peterpetrole said:
They provided a brief reply that didn't prove anything so I applied (online again) for judgment.
I'm guessing you just applied for default judgment, but the court couldn't have granted it as Easyjet had filed a Defence. You could have applied for summary judgment, but that would have involved paying a court fee of £303, and you would also have had to prepare a full application.
A company can't apply for a mental health break. The County Court system is a complete disaster, and a delay of 7 months is not at all uncommon.
You can try calling, but I guarantee you'll be on hold for at least 45 minutes. And even if you call the Liverpool number you don't get through to Liverpool County Court, just a central processing unit. They're pretty useless, and will probably just tell you it's awaiting attention, which you already knew.
All you can really do is email the Court and ask them what's happening -
enquiries.liverpool.countycourt@justice.gov.uk. Make sure you quote your claim number.
To update, and query something, the court has now written to me saying the case has been transferred from Liverpool back to near Luton somewhere (haven't got it in front of me).
The airline has also replied to a query from the court (I haven't yet seen, in the post presumably) that "In response to paragraph 1 of the Order, we confirm that the Defendant is not aware of any other live claims relating to the same index flight."
Which is obviously going to be part of their defence. I note they are not saying they haven't paid out on any other claims, and "not aware" sounds like a Paula Vennels and Co. type weasel.
Anything I can do to find out if any other claims have been paid for this flight? Would any of the flight compo companies tell me?
The airline has also replied to a query from the court (I haven't yet seen, in the post presumably) that "In response to paragraph 1 of the Order, we confirm that the Defendant is not aware of any other live claims relating to the same index flight."
Which is obviously going to be part of their defence. I note they are not saying they haven't paid out on any other claims, and "not aware" sounds like a Paula Vennels and Co. type weasel.
Anything I can do to find out if any other claims have been paid for this flight? Would any of the flight compo companies tell me?
Peterpetrole said:
To update, and query something, the court has now written to me saying the case has been transferred from Liverpool back to near Luton somewhere (haven't got it in front of me).
The airline has also replied to a query from the court (I haven't yet seen, in the post presumably) that "In response to paragraph 1 of the Order, we confirm that the Defendant is not aware of any other live claims relating to the same index flight."
Which is obviously going to be part of their defence. I note they are not saying they haven't paid out on any other claims, and "not aware" sounds like a Paula Vennels and Co. type weasel.
Anything I can do to find out if any other claims have been paid for this flight? Would any of the flight compo companies tell me?
I'm guessing you're in Liverpool and the airline is in Luton... the defendant has the option to move the case to somewhere that suits them better - and of course means that you have to go to Luton if you want to attend court...The airline has also replied to a query from the court (I haven't yet seen, in the post presumably) that "In response to paragraph 1 of the Order, we confirm that the Defendant is not aware of any other live claims relating to the same index flight."
Which is obviously going to be part of their defence. I note they are not saying they haven't paid out on any other claims, and "not aware" sounds like a Paula Vennels and Co. type weasel.
Anything I can do to find out if any other claims have been paid for this flight? Would any of the flight compo companies tell me?
They say they are 'not aware of any other LIVE claims'. That distinction makes me wonder if there were other claims and they've been settled. Either way, it does not suddenly mean the flight was on time.
I also don't see how the time delay can be up for debate - surely this kind of data is logged somewhere?
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