Litigant in person
by David Carter on 16 November 2011
There is an increasing trend for people to represent themselves at court, rather than use the services of a solicitor. In a recent report by the Civil Justice Council (CJC) to the Lord Chancellor and the Lord Chief Justice, the CJC says that litigants in person will need increased information on the law and court system and that the system needs to be simplified and demystified.
The CJC’s report states their belief that litigants in person will become the rule rather than the exception, as litigants look to save money and this is only likely to grow as Legal Aid cutbacks take effect.
At The Sheriffs Office, we are also experiencing more creditors representing themselves when obtaining CCJs. Where the case is straightforward and uncontested, this does not normally present a problem.
However, we are finding that creditors are putting more complex cases at risk because of an inadequate understanding of the law, particularly when there is anything out of the norm, such as an order for information, stays of execution, injunctions and so on.
Some quite basic steps are also sometimes missed, for example, lack of legal knowledge can lead to the wrong entity being sued, making enforcement unfeasible. Insufficient preparation, missing paperwork and misunderstanding all lead to delays and rescheduled court appearances. This not only puts extra pressure on an already under-resourced court system, but also increases the likelihood of a cash flow-strapped defendant declaring bankruptcy/insolvency during the process.
The biggest areas where the litigant in person can become unstuck in judgment enforcement are when the claim is disputed by the defendant and where there is an interpleader claim.
In the case of interpleader, normally when a third party claims ownership of the goods seized, a creditor’s lawyer will be well placed to give advice on whether to agree to the third party claim or whether to dispute it. A litigant in person is often too emotionally involved and might wish to dispute without full appreciation of the costs of a court appearance (both their own and those of the HCEO), how long the process could take, and whether the goods seized are actually of high enough value to justify this.
However much support is put in place for litigants in person, there will be circumstances where an online toolkit will be a poor substitute for the many years’ knowledge and expertise of a skilled lawyer.
While we appreciate the practical reasons for a creditor to choose to represent himself, if the case is of a high value or complexity, we would strongly advise seeking legal advice.
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Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd, trading as The Sheriffs Office. Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. The author will not be held responsible for any comments posted by visitors to this site. Please note that this article does not constitute legal advice. The author has used his best endeavours to make this article as accurate and complete as possible, but requests that the reader be aware that the law of England and Wales frequently changes. The author strongly advises the reader to take legal advice before embarking on any enforcement action.
