What is involved during the Pre-Trial stage in a Civil Claim?
- Civil litigation is the type of Court proceeding which take place if the legal dispute relates to a civil case and if the case involves a person’s private rights and liabilities
- If you are involved in a civil case and seeking to set right an undesirable situation, you may wish to commence civil litigation proceedings to pursue a civil claim against the wrongful party.
- The key stages in a civil claim generally include the following:
- Pleadings: this is the stage where key documents are prepared and filed (i.e. submitted) by the parties to state or summarise the key facts and arguments that they are relying on in support of their respective cases.
- Pre-trial process: this is the stage where parties are required to follow a set of rules and guidelines administered by the Court. The rules and guidelines state how the parties must prepare and file certain documents as well as how they will be entitled to conduct discovery (which is the process through which a party is entitled obtain and gather information and documents that are relevant to the case but which are in the possession of the opposing party).
- Trial process: this is the stage a separate Court hearing (known as a trial) will be conducted where the Judge will consider the evidence presented and arrive at a decision as to whether the Plaintiff has succeeded in proving his claim.
- Appeal: this is the stage where either party makes an appeal to a higher Court if that party is not satisfied with the Judge’s judgment and decision on how the dispute should be settled.
- Enforcement: this is the stage where the Plaintiff who has succeeded in obtaining a judgment in his favour can proceed to enforce the Court’s judgment or order against the Defendant (e.g. to obtain payment of the monies which the Court has ordered the Defendant to pay the Plaintiff).
- The key events that generally take place during the pre-trial stage in a civil claim include the following:
- Summons for Directions:
- This is a type of Court hearing which is conducted for the Court to identify and decide on the actions and steps that must be taken by the parties to prepare for the eventual trial.
- The Court will give directions (i.e. instructions) for the parties to take various steps to prepare for the trial, such as:
- Confirming the witnesses who will be giving evidence in support of the parties’ respective cases.
- Filing and exchanging the witnesses’ affidavits (i.e. statements made and signed by the witnesses under oath or affirmation) which set out the facts and evidence they wish to give in support of the parties’ respective cases.
- Estimating the number of trial days which are required for the presentation of the witnesses’ evidence.
- Agreeing on whether special evidence is required to be presented at the trial, such as the evidence of an expert witness (i.e. a witness who is considered an expert on a particular or specialist subject matter that is key or relevant to the legal dispute).
- Interlocutory Applications:
- These are applications or requests that can be made by a party to obtain the Court’s assistance or intervention to give specific instructions or to make decisions on specific issues as the parties prepare for the trial.
- An interlocutory application is generally made by:
- Filing a document known as a Summons which sets out the nature of the application and type of orders requested as well as the reasons in support of the application.
- Filing an affidavit (i.e. statements made and signed by a witness under oath or affirmation) to provide the facts and evidence in support of the application.
- Common interlocutory applications include those which are made to obtain the following:
- Amendment of the pleadings: the Court can order that a party be allowed to amend a document which has already been filed.
- Further and better particulars: a party can apply to the Court to order that the opposing party provide additional information or details relating to his pleadings so that the other party can have a better understanding of the the opposing party’s case and how he needs to challenge this at the trial.
- Discovery of documents: the Court can order that a party to provide (to the opposing party) with disclosure of and access to information and documents that are relevant to the case but which are in his possession.
- Default judgment: if a party fails to comply with a direction or order of the Court, the other party can apply to the Court to order judgment without proceeding to a trial.
- Summary judgment: the Plaintiff can apply to the Court to order judgment without proceeding to a trial if he is able to show that the Defendant does not have a real or legitimate defence to challenge the claim.
