BPTC Civil Procedure Paper 1

Your client, Hargreaves Manufacturing Ltd, entered into a contract with Sentinel Supplies Ltd for the supply of specialist components worth £185,000. The components were delivered on 1 February 2025 but were found to be defective, causing a production line shutdown for three weeks. Hargreaves has suffered direct losses of £185,000 (the price paid) and consequential losses of £95,000 (lost production revenue). Sentinel denies the components were defective, claiming Hargreaves used them incorrectly. Pre-action correspondence in accordance with the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct has been exchanged but no resolution reached. Hargreaves instructs you to commence proceedings. Advise on: (a) which court the claim should be issued in and the appropriate track; (b) the steps required to issue the claim, including the documents to be filed; (c) the relevant limitation period; and (d) the likely directions the court will give at a case management conference, including your recommendations on expert evidence.

You act for the defendant, Crossfield Engineering Ltd, in a professional negligence claim brought by Riverview Properties Ltd. The claim is for £650,000 arising from alleged defects in structural engineering work carried out on a commercial development. The claimant served the claim form and particulars of claim on 10 March 2025. Your client instructs you that it has a strong defence but is also aware that the claim form was issued on 5 November 2024 — more than four months before service. The particulars of claim also fail to identify which specific contractual terms or duties of care are alleged to have been breached, instead making generalised allegations of negligence. Advise on: (a) whether there is a basis to challenge service of the claim form; (b) whether an application to strike out the particulars of claim or for further information is appropriate; (c) the procedural steps for any such applications; and (d) the costs implications.

You act for Ms Patricia Dunn, a former employee who is bringing a breach of contract claim against her former employer, Whitehall Consulting Group Ltd, in the County Court. She claims £42,000 in unpaid bonus and commission. The case has been allocated to the fast track. Standard directions were given, including a deadline of 4pm on 15 March 2025 for exchange of witness statements. Due to an administrative error at the instructing solicitors' firm, your client's witness statements were not served until 22 March 2025 — seven days late. The defendant's solicitors have written to say they will apply for the late statements to be excluded and for summary judgment. The trial is listed for 28 April 2025. Advise on: (a) the court's approach to relief from sanctions where witness statements are served late; (b) the application your client should make and the evidence required; (c) the prospects of success; and (d) how to respond to the defendant's threat of summary judgment.

You act for the claimant, Thornbury Ltd, in a debt claim against Lakeside Developments Ltd for £320,000 arising from unpaid invoices for construction work. Judgment in default was entered on 18 February 2025 after the defendant failed to file an acknowledgment of service or defence. It is now 25 March 2025. Lakeside's solicitors have written to you stating that their client only became aware of the proceedings when a winding-up petition was threatened, and that the invoices are disputed on the basis that the work was defective. They say their client intends to apply to set aside the default judgment. You have been asked to advise Thornbury on: (a) the test the court will apply on an application to set aside default judgment; (b) the factors relevant to whether set aside should be granted; (c) what conditions the court might impose; and (d) whether Thornbury should oppose the application and, if so, on what grounds.