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The County Court
The term County Court is a misnomer to the extent that there
is no connection between County Courts and geographical counties.
There are in fact over four hundred County Courts distributed
over the country on the basis of need.
Proceedings begun in County Courts total some two million a
year, but only about 5% of cases actually come to trial, the
remainder being settled by the parties between the date of issue
of the writ, which is the first step in commencing proceedings,
and the date when the case is due to be heard.
The County Court is a court of first instance only. This means
that it deals only with the original disputes rather than appeals
from other courts (a court which hears appeals is called an
appellate court). The types of cases which are heard by County
Courts are as follows:
-actions for breach of contract, where the amount claimed does
not exceed £5000;
-actions in tort, with the exception of actions for defamation,
where the amount claimed does not exceed £5000;
-actions in equity, such as those concerning trusts, dissolution
of partnerships, and mortgages, where the amount involved does
not exceed £30,000;
-actions concerning title to land, and actions for the recovery
of possession of land, where the net annual value of land for
rating purposes does not exceed £1000;
-disputes regarding the grant of probate or letters of administration,
that is, authority to deal with a deceased person’s estate,
where the estate is valued at less than £15,000;
-actions which could be heard by the High Court but are remitted
by the High Court to the County Court;
-jurisdiction regarding the adoption of children. Both the High
Court and the magistates’ courts also have jurisdiction
in this field;
-in some County Courts, jurisdiction in bankruptcy, unlimited
in amount. In London, however, all bankruptcy cases are dealt
with by the Bankruptcy Court which is a section of the High
Court;
-in some County Courts, jurisdiction to deal with proceedings
brought by the Race Relations Board in respect of racial discrimination;
-in some County Courts, jurisdiction to deal with maritime cases
up to £5000 and disputes in connection with salvage up
to £15,000;
-undefended matrimonial cases, including actions for divorce,
judicial separation, or nullity of marriage. If a case is defended,
however, it must be heard in the High Court;
-in County Courts with divorce jurisdiction, claims for ancillary
relief and for the protection of children, wilful neglect to
maintain dependants, and the variation of maintenance agreements;
-action involving ‘extortionate’ credit agreements,
where the amount involved does not exceed £5000;
-various social matters, such as disputes regarding housing
and the welfare of children;
-in some matters, particularly breach of contract and tort,
the County Courts have unlimited jurisdiction if both parties
agree that the case shall be heard in the County Court rather
than the High Court. On the other hand, on giving security for
costs, a defendant may ask for a case which would normally be
heard in the County Court to be transferred to the High Court
if the claim exceeds £150 and some important point of
law or fact is likely to arise.
The monetary limits mentioned under the various headings above
are subject to fairly frequent change as inflation erodes real
values, and it is therefore not of great importance that precise
amounts should be remembered.
Where the parties have a choice of tribunal, there are advantages
if the case is heard in the County Court rather than the High
Court. The proceedings are speedier and less formal, and as
a result costs are less.
The jurisdiction of the County Courts is limited to the geographical
area which they cover, and an action must normally be brought
in the court for the district in which the defendant resides
or carries on business, or in the court for the district in
which the cause of action arose.
There is provision for any action to be transferred from the
County Court to the High Court where the sum involved is over
£600 and the defendant objects to the case being tried
in the County Court, provided that the County Court judge certifies
that in his opinion some important question of law or fact is
likely to arise and the defendant gives security for the amount
claimed and the costs of the trial in the High Court. If an
action is brought in the High Court for a sum of not more than
£5000, the defendant may apply to have the case transferred
to the County Court, and it will be transferred if the judge
or master who hears the case thinks fit. If in an action brought
in the High Court the amount recovered is less than £600,
the plaintiff is not entitled to costs. If he recovers less
than £3000 he will be awarded costs only on the County
Court scale unless it appears to the judge or master that there
were reasonable grounds to suppose that he would have recovered
more than he could have claimed in the County Court, or if they
are satisfied that there were reasonable grounds for bringing
the case in the High Court, or if the defendant objected to
the case being transferred to the County Court.
Another important function of the County Court is the enforcement
of judgments, whether County Court or High Court judgments,
where a party against whom an award had been made fails to comply
with the order of the court. Where an award of money has been
made, but it has not been paid, a number of options are open
to the County Court.
Attachment of earnings. An order for attachment of earnings
is an instruction to the employer of the debtor, ordering him
to make periodical deductions from the earnings of the debtor,
and to pay them to the collecting officer of the court. An order
of this sort is often made in respect of arrears of maintenance.
Execution. A judgment creditor may seek a warrant of execution
against the personal property of the debtor. If such a warrant
is granted, it is executed by a bailiff who is entitled to seize
as much of the debtor’s personal property as is necessary
to satisfy the debt. The debtor must, however, be left with
clothes, bedding, and the tools of his trade to the value of
£50.
Garnishee proceedings. The judgment creditor may institute garnishee
proceedings. Garnishee proceedings involve three parties: the
judgment creditor (A), the judgment debtor (B), and a third
party (C), very often a bank with whom B has an account in credit,
who owes money to B. Under garnishee proceedings the court orders
C to pay direct to A so much of the amount it owes to B as will
satisfy the judgment debt, or the whole of the amount it owes
if this is less than the judgment debt.
Charging order. The judgment creditor may obtain from the court
a charging order. This enables the creditor, if the debt remains
unpaid, to sell the property subject to the charge in order
to recover the debt.
Appointment of a receiver. The court may, at the request of
the judgment creditor, appoint a receiver to whom income which
would normally go to the judgment debtor will be paid, and the
receiver will pay it to the judgment creditor until the debt
is repaid.
Bankruptcy proceedings. The judgment creditor may serve upon
the judgment debtor a notice to pay the amount due within seven
days, and if the debtor does not pay within that time, the creditor
may institute bankruptcy proceedings. Such proceedings should
not be instituted lightly, however, because unless the debtor
is able to pay in full, the creditor will receive only a fraction
of the amount due to him, and then will have no further recourse
against a debtor.
Judgment Summons. A judgment summons involves an investigation
by the court into a judgment debtor’s means, and generally
involves an order by the court to the debtor to pay the debt
by instalments. Until 1970, the advantage of a judgment summons
from the point of view of a judgment creditor was that the judgment
debtor could be imprisoned if he failed to comply with it. In
general, this is not now the case, so that attachment of earnings
is sought much more frequently than judgment summons.
Sometimes a judgment involves something other than an award
of money, and the court’s powers of enforcement are different
from those mentioned:
-where a successful plaintiff is entitled to receive or recover
possession of land, a warrant of possession may be executed
by a bailiff.
-where there is a judgment for possession of specific goods,
a warrant of delivery may be executed by a bailiff.
In these cases the bailiff is entitled to seize the land or
goods and hand over possession to the plaintiff.
When the court has awarded an injunction against a defendant,
failure to comply with its terms constitutes contempt of court.
In these circumstances the court may punish the defendant by
making a committal order. The effect of this is that if the
defendant continues to refuse to comply with the injunction
he may be imprisoned.
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