Default Judgment Overturned, Capital Car Park Control ordered to pay costs of £3,600
Before the County Court at Chelmsford ,our former client successfully appealed against a default judgment that had been entered against her, securing costs of £3,600 against Capital Car Park Control.
Presided over by His Honour Judge Dubbridge, the appeal revolved around alleged parking violations at a site managed by Terry Szmidt, trading as Capital Car Park Control. Initially, District Judge Coombe had refused to set aside the default judgment without providing any explanation. Unfazed, our client advanced the appeal on three primary grounds:
1. Non-receipt of the claim form was valid justification for setting aside the judgment.
2. Non-compliance with CPR 16.4, due to inadequate specification of the terms and breaches involved.
3. Defective notice to keeper, suggesting a strong potential for successfully defending the claim.
Our client's circumstances added an interesting dimension to the appeal; she had relocated to Australia a mere month before the claim was issued, which was sent to her last known address in the UK.
Unaware of the initial proceedings, a default judgment was enforced against her, impacting her parent's home. Upon learning of this, she promptly sought our assistance. Though her first application to set aside the judgment made by our solicitor’s partner Lawrence and Associate did not succeed, she was advised her to pursue an appeal. Permission was granted, leading to a thorough hearing on the matter.
In a noteworthy decision, the appellate court declared that the non-receipt of the claim was indeed other good reason to set aside the judgment on discretionary grounds. Additionally, the particulars of the claim were found defective, failing to clearly outline the alleged terms and breach, necessitating the setting aside of the judgment under CPR 13.3(b)
Further, the court agreed with submission made Mr Jackson Yamba, with significant issues with the notice to keeper, which did not specify the date on which the notice to driver was given as required under Schedule 4 para 8(2)(c) of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. This flaw was itself a ground to set aside judgement under CPR 13.3(a) as it prevented the Claimant from pursuing our former client as the registered keeper of the vehicle.
Due to these critical legal oversights, the appeal court ruled in favour of our client in setting aside the default judgement. Capital Car Park Control was ordered to cover £3,600 in appeal-related costs.