Statement of claim and statement of defence

What is happening

A company has decided to sue but is not sure exactly what to ask for: the debt alone, or also a penalty, termination of the contract, return of goods. The way the claims are framed determines which court hears the case, the amount of state duty and what evidence will have to be gathered.

Another common story: a ruling accepting a claim against you has arrived, the preliminary hearing is a couple of weeks away and the company has no position. The defence has to reach the claimant and the court in good time, otherwise the court may decide the case on the evidence already on file.

Sometimes an in-house lawyer has filed the claim and the court has left it without action or returned it. We find out why, cure the defects and check whether the return has put the limitation period at risk.

What the law says

• What a statement of claim must contain and what must be attached is set by the Commercial Procedure Code (APK) and the Code of Civil Procedure; if there are defects, the court leaves the claim without action and sets a time to fix them, and returns it if they are not fixed.
• Before filing, a copy of the claim with its attachments is sent to the defendant, and proof of dispatch is attached to the claim. In commercial court money claims, compliance with the pre-trial claim procedure usually has to be shown as well.
• Jurisdiction follows the general rules or the parties' agreement: a contract may name a particular court in advance, and the court takes that clause into account when accepting the claim.
• The defence is sent to the claimant and the court in time for them to read it before the hearing; if no defence is filed, the court may decide the case on the evidence it has.
• A counterclaim is accepted where it is connected with the original claim and hearing them together will lead to a quicker and more accurate resolution; it may be filed until the first-instance court gives judgment.
• The general limitation period under the Civil Code is three years; the court applies it only if a party raises it before judgment, so a defendant has to raise it in time.

What we do

• We define the subject matter and grounds of the claim: what to claim, how much and in what order, so that nothing is lost.
• We check jurisdiction, limitation and compliance with the pre-trial procedure.
• We draft the claim with calculations and with each argument tied to specific evidence, rather than to the whole bundle at once.
• We prepare the applications needed from the outset: for interim measures, for disclosure of evidence, for an expert examination.
• Where your company is the defendant, we take the claim apart point by point, find the weaknesses in its calculations and evidence and prepare a defence and counter-calculation.
• We assess whether to bring a counterclaim, plead limitation or ask for a penalty to be reduced.
• We file through the court's electronic system and track the documents' progress.

What we will need from you

• The contract, supplementary agreements and evidence of performance.
• Correspondence about the dispute and any claim letters sent or received.
• If you are the defendant: a copy of the claim with all attachments and the court's ruling accepting it.
• An account from the staff who handled the deal of what actually happened.
• A power of attorney for the representative and evidence of the signatory's authority.