FLK1 · SQE1 module
Dispute Resolution
Dispute Resolution tests civil litigation mechanics: pre-action conduct, statements of case, disclosure, and the court’s active case management under the Civil Procedure Rules.
A recurring pattern asks what happens when a party unreasonably refuses to engage with alternative dispute resolution, since this feeds directly into costs consequences.
What this module covers
Every section of Dispute Resolution, in the order the course teaches them. This is the whole syllabus for the module, not a selection. Open a section to read the topics inside it.
Methods of Dispute Resolution: Litigation and ADR7 topics
- Litigation and alternative dispute resolution compared
- Characteristics of litigation
- Characteristics of arbitration
- Characteristics of mediation
- The duty to consider alternative dispute resolution
- Early neutral evaluation and ombudsman schemes
- Negotiation and joint settlement meetings
Pre-Action Considerations: Limitation13 topics
- Six years in contract
- Six years in tort
- Three years for personal injury
- No limitation period for child sexual abuse claims
- Delay and the right to a fair hearing
- Fatal claims
- Latent damage
- Make good clauses in construction contracts
- When time starts and stops
- Minors and protected parties
- Fraud, concealment and mistake
- Amending parties after expiry
- One year for defamation
Pre-Action Protocols and Pre-Action Applications9 topics
- Purpose of the protocols
- Steps under the Practice Direction
- The Personal Injury Protocol
- Consequences of non-compliance
- Issuing before the protocol is complete
- Pre-action disclosure
- Disclosure by a non-party
- Pre-action inspection of property
- Costs in the protocol period
Starting Proceedings: Choice of Court and Jurisdiction6 topics
- County Court and High Court thresholds
- Further reasons to start in the High Court
- The three divisions of the High Court
- The specialist courts
- Issuing in the County Court
- Consequences of issuing in the wrong court
Issuing Proceedings: The Claim Form and Part 8 Claims7 topics
- Contents of the claim form
- The statement of value
- The court fee
- Timing of the particulars of claim
- Issue stops and starts the clock
- Part 8 claims
- Documents sent to the court on issue
Service of Proceedings9 topics
- Time limits for serving a claim form
- The permitted methods of service
- Deemed service of the claim form
- Deemed service of other documents
- Service of the particulars of claim
- Service outside the jurisdiction
- Alternative service and the validity period
- The response pack
- The certificate of service
Responding to a Claim12 topics
- Time to respond
- Calculating clear days
- Extending time for the defence
- Admissions
- Judgment in default
- Setting aside a default judgment
- Disputing jurisdiction
- Discontinuance
- Withdrawing an admission
- Minors, protected parties and court approval
- Response times outside the jurisdiction
- Unfair dismissal time limits in context
Statements of Case8 topics
- Purpose of statements of case
- Contents of the particulars of claim
- Claiming interest
- Admitting, denying or not admitting
- Further matters for the defence
- The reply
- Requests for further information
- Amending a statement of case
Part 20 Claims: Counterclaims, Third-Party Claims, Contribution and Indemnity5 topics
- Counterclaims
- Third-party claims
- Contribution and indemnity
- Serving and responding to an additional claim
- A counterclaim that joins a new party
Case Management and Track Allocation11 topics
- The overriding objective
- The four tracks
- The small claims track
- The fast track
- The intermediate track
- The multi-track
- Principles of allocation
- The directions questionnaire
- Directions and case management conferences
- Sanctions and relief for non-compliance
- Setting aside a small claims decision
Interim Applications11 topics
- Procedure on an interim application
- Applications without notice
- Summary judgment
- Strike out and summary judgment compared
- Interim payments
- Interim injunctions
- Freezing injunctions
- Search and preservation orders
- Security for costs
- Speed of an application and County Court jurisdiction
- Discharging a freezing injunction by offering security
Disclosure and Inspection15 topics
- What disclosure and inspection mean
- Standard disclosure
- Control of documents
- The disclosure list and statement
- A reasonable and proportionate search
- Specific disclosure
- Inspection and redaction
- Legal advice privilege
- Litigation privilege
- Other privilege and immunity
- Loss of privilege and mistaken disclosure
- Duties of the legal representative
- The train of enquiry test
- The electronic disclosure questionnaire
- Challenging inadequate disclosure
Witness Evidence, Hearsay and Other Evidential Issues14 topics
- Burden and standard of proof
- Direct and circumstantial evidence
- Witness statements
- Witness summaries
- Witness summonses and conduct money
- Letters of request
- Affidavits
- Admissibility of hearsay
- Weight of hearsay, and notice
- Convictions and similar fact evidence
- Notice to admit facts
- Witness summons mechanics
- Competence of a witness
- The court’s power to exclude evidence
Expert Evidence7 topics
- Who counts as an expert
- The expert’s duty to the court
- The court’s control of expert evidence
- Single joint experts and party experts
- The report and oral evidence
- Written questions and discussions between experts
- Mechanics of instructing an expert
Trial, Settlement and Tomlin Orders8 topics
- Consent orders and Tomlin orders
- Pre-trial checklists and review
- Rights of audience and modes of address
- The trial bundle
- The format of a trial
- Examination, cross-examination and re-examination
- Judgment and ancillary matters
- Courtroom etiquette
Costs11 topics
- The loser pays rule and the court’s discretion
- The indemnity principle
- Standard and indemnity bases
- Summary and detailed assessment
- Provisional assessment and its threshold
- Costs management and budgets
- Fixed costs, and no order for costs
- Qualified one-way costs shifting
- Non-party and wasted costs orders
- Default costs certificates
- The types of costs order
Part 36 Offers to Settle6 topics
- Nature and requirements of a Part 36 offer
- Clarification and withdrawal
- Acceptance and its costs consequences
- Where the claimant rejects an offer
- Where the defendant rejects an offer
- When the consequences would be unjust
Enforcement of Money Judgments8 topics
- The methods of enforcement
- Interest on judgments
- Orders to obtain information
- Taking control of goods
- Third-party debt orders
- Charging orders
- Attachment of earnings
- Using methods together, and enforcing abroad
Appeals6 topics
- Destination of appeals
- Permission to appeal
- The two grounds of appeal
- Time limit for an appeal
- The appeal hearing
- The insolvency exception on destination
A real question from this module
Answer it before you decide
FLK1 · Dispute Resolution
Question
A claimant proposes mediation early in proceedings. The defendant declines, believing the claim to be hopeless and wanting a quick summary judgment instead, but does not otherwise explain the refusal to the claimant or the court. The defendant wins at trial. In deciding whether to depart from the general rule that costs follow the event, which of the following will the court consider?