What is the Small Claims Court?
In England and Wales, we have different types of court to deal with different types of disputes. For civil disputes (i.e. not criminal, or family law, disputes) there are essentially four layers of court:
the County Court. This is the lowest court in the hierarchy, and deals with the vast bulk of civil litigation. It is a ‘court of first instance’, meaning that it is a court in which parties present their evidence and obtain a judgment for the first time;
the High Court. This is the second lowest court in the hierarchy, and deals with much more valuable civil litigation than that which is dealt with in the County Court. It is a ‘court of first instance’, but also a court which hears appeals from the County Court;
the Court of Appeal. This this the second highest court in the hierarchy, and deals only with appeals. Very few cases end up in the Court of Appeal;
the Supreme Court. This is the highest court, and deals only with very significant and important appeals. It is very rare for a case to end up in the Supreme Court.
So, where does the small claims court come in?
In short, it does not exist. When people mention the small claims court, they are thinking of a low-value claim in the County Court.
When a claim is started in the County Court, it is allocated to a ‘track’ which dictate how the claim will be dealt with administratively and what rules apply to its progression through the court system. One of those tracks is called the ‘small claims track’, and it may be that which has given rise to people believing there is such a thing as a small claims court.
In simple terms (and subject to a few exceptions) the small claims track is designed for less complicated claims with a financial value of up to £10,000. It aims to provide a proportionate method of dealing with straightforward cases of limited financial value.
Use of the small claims track in the County Court discourages the heavy reliance on solicitors, as the winner can only recover minimal legal costs (if any) from the loser. However, it is almost always a good financial decision to at least speak to a solicitor at the outset and understand the strengths and weaknesses of the claim you are making, or responding to, and what steps you should take.
If you would like to speak to one of the Hamshaw team about a small claim, click here to contact us.