We are continuing our series on Civil Procedure Rules, highlighting some of the little known but common rules and hopefully explaining them in plain English.
The next rule we will be looking at is Rule 6.14 – Service of a claim form.
The rule says:
6.14 A claim form served within the United Kingdom in accordance with this Part is deemed to be served on the second business day after completion of the relevant step under rule 7.5(1).
What does this mean?
After a Claim Form is served, the Defendant has a set period of days to acknowledge and respond.
This rules sets the start date for calculating the period for the acknowledgement or response.
It only applies to Claim Forms and not other documents (where the deemed date depends on the method of service – the blog on that will come later)
So, no matter how the Claim Form is served, the deemed date of service is always the second business day after the step is taken to serve.
So, assuming there are no bank holidays, etc:
If you serve on Monday, the Claim Form will be deemed served Wednesday.
If you serve on Tuesday, the Claim Form will be deemed served Thursday.
If you serve on Wednesday, the Claim Form will be deemed served Friday.
If you serve on Thursday, the Claim Form will be deemed served Monday.
If you serve on Friday, the Claim Form will be deemed served Tuesday.
If you serve on Saturday, the Claim Form will be deemed served Tuesday.
If you serve on Sunday, the Claim Form will be deemed served Tuesday.
You can find the full Civil Procedure Rules online (currently) at https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules
Any questions or support with the above please email us at: philip@whitecollarlegalandadmin.com or phone 0151 230 8931.