Serve claim…wait 456 days for next move

The joint study of 8,500 cases (not including small claims) by Express Solicitors and the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (ACSO), Civil court delays, published last week, exposed ‘significant regional differences’. The East of England was the worst overall performer, with an average 350 days between service of claim form and completion of first costs and case management conference (CCMC). Next was the South East, followed by the North East.

Delays varied according to size of claim, for example, Thanet County Court was taking more than 456 days for CCMCs for some claims, Chelmsford 426 days, Reading 424, Bournemouth 394 and Durham 377.

The best-performing regions were Yorkshire and the Humber, with an average wait time of 210 days, followed by West Midlands (235 days) and the North West (236 days).

Overall, people were kept waiting more than nine months for their CCMC in six out of ten regions. These figures do not include instances where further CCMCs are required, which would create more delay.

James Maxey, managing partner of Express Solicitors, said: ‘The government’s quarterly figures only provide a national picture so we have done our own research on regional variations, and the outcome is shocking.

‘It beggars belief that a client should wait for over a year or more for their case to be heard in Chelmsford, Reading or Durham. The figures underline what a postcode lottery civil justice has become.

‘During this year, courts have cancelled 20 trials where we are representing clients at the very last minute because there have been no available judges. The cost is significant; clients have often travelled miles to court (and taken a day off work) only to be told that there is no judge.’