A Straightforward Guide to Small Claims and the County Court by David Bennie

Author:David Bennie
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Straightforward Publishing

SPECIAL CASES-Road Traffic Accidents, Personal Injury etc.

The small claims track is available to minor personal injuries and claims of more complex nature than a simple money claim. This is not an invitation to take on more than you understand and in appropriate circumstances you should take advice before rushing in with an ill-prepared claim. A more difficult case would obviously require a more detailed understanding of the evidence required to succeed.

The Burden of Proof

It is the claimant who brings the case to court and who makes allegations about the defendant or his conduct and it is for the claimant to establish that these claims are true. In legal terms it is said that he bears the burden of proof, on a practical level both the claimant and the defendant can be subject to the “onus of proof”. This means that when the claimant has made a plausible allegation and substantiated his claims, for example producing evidence that goods were delivered but not paid for then the onus is on the defendant to give an answer or give an explanation. The defendant might produce evidence of payment. This would then put the onus of proof back on the claimant. The claimant could allege that the payments were for other invoices and so on. Because the claimant bears the burden of proof, if at the end of the hearing the district judge finds that the claimant’s and the defendant’s arguments are of equal strength he must decide in favour of the defendant and dismiss the claim form. When he is making a counterclaim the defendant bears the burden of proof in respect of this part of the case.

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