Two bits of news from DAC Beachcroft.
The first is their pre-announcement of an event on 1st May where they will be launching ‘Nightingale’, a credit hire automation tool, whatever that is. I can hardly wait although I think the choice of the name Nightingale is a bit dopey. Wasn’t that the name of the pretend hospitals that the government spooled up, during the Covid pandemic, which turned out to be a waste of time, energy and money (unless you were a Tory VIP)?
The second is their update on small track compulsory mediation and the announcement that road traffic accident and personal injury claims will be excluded. I’ve reprinted their article below:
“Following the recent announcement that the much anticipated introduction of compulsory mediation in small claims track cases would be commencing on the 22nd May 2024, further details have been released in the form of Practice Direction 51ZE – Small Claims Track Automatic Referral To Mediation Pilot Scheme.
It confirms that the scope of the Pilot Scheme is, in the first instance at least, going to be limited. PD51ZE confirms that the scheme:
(a) applies where the only remedy claimed is, or purports to be, a judgment for a specified sum of money;
(b) does not apply to a claim which is started using Online Civil Money Claims; and
(c) does not in any event apply to road traffic accident or personal injury claims.
It is to be noted that the wording now excludes claims arising out of road traffic accidents. It also excludes unliquidated claims, such as personal injury. OCMC claims are also excluded although it is anticipated that the scheme will be extended to include these later in the year.
The nature of the exclusions means that, for the time being at least, the majority of insurance related claims will not be in scope and will proceed in the usual way. Insurance claims likely to come within the initial scope of the Pilot will include property damage (provided it is not RTA related) and household claims provided they are within the scope of the small claims track.
PD51ZE contains consequential amendments to various parts of the Civil Procedure Rules. These focus primarily on the court's requirement to consider imposing any sanction, including a costs sanction, should a party fail to engage with the Small Claims Track Automatic Mediation Service should the matter proceed to a final hearing.
As part of the changes a revised standard direction has been introduced which reads:
Each party must deliver to every other party and to the court office copies of all documents on which they intend to rely at the hearing no later than [ ] [14 days before the hearing]. (These should include the letter making the claim and the reply; and, if a party failed to attend mediation provided by the Mediation Service, that party’s explanation for that failure, and any other party’s comments on the matter, with any supporting documents.)
PD51ZE contains no detail as to how the mediation appointments will be carried out but previous announcements have stated that they will be conducted by telephone and will last for up to one hour in accordance with the existing Small Claims Mediation scheme.
The extent to which the Pilot succeeds and the impact that it has on settlement rates and overall indemnity spend remains to be seen. The rule changes are clearly aimed at freeing up the court's resources, reducing backlogs and, ultimately the number of claims proceeding to final hearings. It is to be hoped that statistics detailing the outcomes of cases referred to the Mediation Scheme will be made available, not only to identify whether the Pilot is achieving its objectives but also to inform the proposed future expansion of automatic referrals to mediation for other categories of claim. It had always been suggested that the scheme would include road traffic accidents, which make up a large proportion of small track litigation within the Court system. Excluding these claims in the first instance seems to be a sensible approach so lessons can be considered before rolling out further.
We will be working closely with our clients to develop strategies in relation to this Pilot scheme, both in respect of the initial implemented and any subsequent developments.”