November 2009
RADICAL CHANGES TO PROCEEDINGS
IN THE DISTRICT COURT

Introduction

On 1 November 2009, the District Courts Rules 2009 came into force.  The new rules represent a fundamental change to the litigation process for the majority of civil cases in the District Court. The philosophy behind the new rules is that previous rules consisted of a staged process leading up to a defended hearing, whereas the reality of the position is that only a very small proportion of proceedings filed in the District Court ever made it to that defended hearing.

Commencement of Proceedings

Previously proceedings in the District Court were commenced by filing and service of a Statement of Claim and Notice of Proceeding.  Under the new rules, these documents are replaced with a single document called a Notice of Claim, which is filed in the Court and served on the Defendant.  The Defendant has 30 working days to serve a Notice of Response, which replaces the Statement of Defence that was filed under the previous rules.  However, unlike Statements of Defence which were also filed in Court, the Notice of Response is only served on the Plaintiff at this stage.  If no Notice of Response is served, the plaintiff may obtain judgment by default.

Once a Notice of Response has been served, the parties then exchange “Information Capsules” at 30 working day intervals.  The purpose of the Information Capsules is to inform the other party of the essential nature of each party’s case and the information on which each party relies to support their case.

By the time Information Capsules have been exchanged, the parties are likely to have been provided with sufficient information to enable them to make a reasonable assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of their respective cases.  This should assist the parties to settle the matter.  If, however, they are unable to reach settlement, the Plaintiff will then file in Court a copy of the Notice of Response (as noted above this would have only been served on the Plaintiff but not filed in Court at this point) together with copies of the Information Capsules and a Notice of Pursuit of Claim.  These documents will be placed either before a District Court Judge or Registrar who will determine whether the claim is to be allocated a Short Trial or a Judicial Settlement Conference. 

Short Trials

Short Trials are intended to cover simple cases anticipated to take less then one day and involving few witnesses. Evidence is given orally but there are time limits imposed on the length of time for the giving of evidence and legal submissions. 

Judicial Settlement Conferences

If the matter is not allocated a Short Trial, it will be allocated a 90 minute Judicial Settlement Conference to take place within 30 working days of it being allocated. A Judicial Settlement Conference is essentially a meeting between the parties and their representatives in the presence of a District Court Judge who will endeavour to assist the parties to come to their own resolution.  If, however the Judge forms the view that the matter is not going to be resolved in a 90 minute Judicial Settlement Conference, the Judge will then immediately convene a Directions Conference at which time the Judge will allocate the matter to one of three modes of trial:-

• A “Simplified Trial”
• A Summary Judgment Hearing or
• A Full Trial

Simplified Trials

The Simplified Trial process is designed to cover cases involving one or two issues.  Evidence is generally to be given by way of affidavit with cross-examination being permitted, although there are time limits for cross-examination and legal submissions.  It is intended that the Simplified Trial process will apply to the majority of claims that are not resolved at the Judicial Settlement Conference.
 
Summary Judgment

The Summary Judgment process is an abbreviated form of proceeding whereby a plaintiff who is able to prove that the defendant does not have an arguable defence can obtain Judgment at an early stage.  The Summary Judgment procedure has been available under the old rules for some years but applications for Summary Judgment usually were made at the commencement of proceedings.  Under the new regime, Summary Judgment Applications may only be brought after the Judicial Settlement Conference. 

Full Trial

If it is decided that the case is not suitable for a Simplified Trial or the Summary Judgment procedure, it will be allocated a Full Trial at which time the witnesses will give their evidence orally and be cross-examined.  The procedure for such Trials will be identical to the procedures in the High Court. 

Practical Implications of the New Regime

The new regime is intended to:-

• Identify at an early stage those cases that can be resolved without the Courts’ intervention;
• Identify at an early stage those cases that are likely to be resolved at a Judicial Settlement Conference and arrange such a conference. 
• Ensure that the factual and legal issues in a particular case are identified at an early stage.
• Give cases that are relatively straightforward but which are not able to be settled nevertheless receive an early and straightforward hearing in the form of either a Short Trial or a Simplified Trial. 
• Simplify the steps required to bring a matter to a hearing and reduce the “procedural warfare” that could and often did result under the old rules.

Conclusions

Whether the new regime will be successful in achieving all of its objectives remains to be seen.  However, what is clear is that the new rules represent a fundamental change to the way in which litigation in the District Court is conducted.  It is certainly likely to result in litigants having to turn their minds to the strengths and weaknesses of their and their opponents’ cases and consider meaningful settlement discussions at a much earlier stage than was the case previously. 

Whilst the procedures are designed to simplify the process involved in litigation in the District Court, there are nevertheless traps for the unwary.  In particular, the consequence for Plaintiffs and Defendants who fail to comply with their obligations under the new regime will often be the dismissal of their claim/defence.  Therefore, whilst the new regime is intended to simplify the processes involved in litigation, it nevertheless remains important that litigants seek advice and assistance at an early stage from advisors who are familiar with the new processes.  We can assist in that regard.