New Rules for Scottish Personal Injury Actions in the Sheriff Court 30/10/09

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On 2nd November 2009, the Act of Sederunt (Ordinary Cause Rules Amendment) (Personal Injuries Actions) 2009 brings into force new rules for personal injury Sheriff Court actions which have a value in excess of £5,000. The new rules will introduce a more streamlined system, one that is almost identical to the personal injuries procedure introduced in the Court of Session in 2003.

A copy of the rules can be viewed by clicking here.

New rules - the key points:  

  • the rules will apply to all court actions raised after 2nd November 2009
  • automatic recovery of documents such as accident reports, risk assessments, medical records and wage records;
  • simplified written pleadings;
    early assignment of a proof (trial) diet - within nine months of defences being lodged;
  • a timetable issued by the court that sets out the caseflow for the action;
    parties will only be allowed to sist (i.e. temporarily stop) an action for a specified period of time and only where there is a compelling reason;
    each party to the action will be required to exchange and lodge an assessment of damages (the “valuation of claim”), together with supporting documentation such as expert reports – the claimant does this first, within eight weeks of defences being lodged, followed by the defendants four weeks later;
  • parties are required to hold a pre-proof conference (the equivalent of a pre-trial meeting/joint settlement meeting) not later than four weeks before the proof to explore the opportunities for settlement.  In contrast to the Court of Session, provision is made for conference to be conducted by telephone rather than in person.

Conclusion
The introduction of these new rules is to be welcomed.  Reform of the previous rules was long overdue. The need for early and full preparation of personal injury actions has always been paramount, but now there will be rules that provide the necessary framework to reward such preparation, as well as penalising parties where there has been inactivity or unnecessary delay. The underlying ethos of the rules is to encourage early settlement of cases as quickly and as cost effectively as possible.  “Door of the court” settlements have already become rare in the Court of Session, and we expect to see a similar result achieved in the Sheriff Court.

Further information
For further information on the issues raised in this ezine, please contact Andrew Lothian, Douglas Keir, Sarah Phillips, Julia McDonald or your usual contact at Anderson Strathern.


This bulletin is for general information only and does not constitute legal, investment or other professional advice. Please contact us should you require advice on any particular legal issue. Anderson Strathern LLP accepts no responsibility for any loss that may arise if reliance is placed on any information or opinions expressed in this bulletin.