The 58th update of the CPR: a radical step in civil litigation

Heralded as one of the most radical developments this century in civil litigation, the County Court Money Claims Centre (CCMCC) will become operational on 19 March. Based at the former Salford County Court, it will become responsible for the issue and initial progression of all designated money claims commenced under the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR) part 7 (see CPR (Amendment No.4) 2011 SI 2011/3103 and the 58th update).

Designated money claims are defined as specified and unspecified claims for which the CPR does not provide a special procedure and only for money.

Staff at the CCMCC are expecting to issue between 1,300 and 1,700 designated money claims each day under the seal of the ‘Northampton County Court’ and the prefix ‘YJ’ to ‘YN’. Even defended claims will be retained by the CCMCC until the parties return their completed allocation questionnaires (unless they are not needed) or an application is made requiring an oral hearing. The CCMCC will also process applications for the issue of warrants of execution in cases it retains after a default judgment, transferring them locally only if an application on the warrant is issued.

When claims are transferred out to local courts the automatic transfer provisions will continue to apply with claims usually being transferred to the individual defendant’s home court. However, the changes include an innovation enabling claimants to specify their ‘preferred court’ in the event of a claim being defended. We are warned that should not be the local court of the claimant’s solicitor!

No oral hearings will be conducted at the CCMCC though paper applications will be dealt with by a panel of deputy district judges attending the centre each day with the ability to refer any particular problems to a full-time district judge.

The new form N1 is to be submitted only in duplicate for use of the CCMCC and the defendant: no copy will be returned to the claimant. Notes on completion of form N1 are provided in form N1A. Claim forms submitted to local county courts will simply be returned to sender and not forwarded to Salford.

A court user group is being set up by Martin Huddleston, the centre manager who is keen to receive feedback in relation to the work of the centre in order to identify the cause of any concern and review and change any process should it be necessary. It is hoped that the era of litigation embracing technology is about to come of age – true or false? There are bound to be teething problems but let’s all work together to make it a success.