small claims court / circut court

C

creme egg

Registered User
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66
Morning all.

I guess I was just looking for some advise.
I brought a supplier to the small claims court as we were very unhappy with what we received, the customer services after and he also did not fulfill a key aspect that he said he would (in writing too).
Just before the court date, he said he would give us our money back on condition we gave him back the goods, which we were not happy to do, as we need the goods to be able to get someone else to work on them, and have something that we could be happy with. We did try to contact him to discuss this, but we never heard anything back.
He did not turn up on the day of the hearing, so we were granted what we were looking for (our money back and the goods did not have to be returned)

He than appealed this decsion, and now we have to go to the circut court. Again he contacted us and said he would give us our money back (after the second court date) which I don't believe he will, as this is just a tactic to "look good" when we do go to court.

I spoke to a solicitor and he suggested that we get a barrister, as we should not represent ourselves. At this rate the court costs are going to be more than the sum involved. I am not sure what to do, or where we stand now. Would the ruling of the first just have any bearing on the second court case?

Does anyone know how much a barrister / junior barrister costs?

I feel as if I am in over my head at this stage, but on the other hand, I don't want him to "get away" with it either.

Sorry I cannot go into the specifics of this (as in what service provider) but I am afraid someone will recognise me, as the case is quite specific!

thanks so much

creme egg.
 
no he does'nt acutally. He is a friend of a friend, and has never had the need to use one himself. He is going to recommend one.... but I want to have an idea of the cost before he calls to see if I want to use one.
 
be careful, if you refuse to accept a "reasonable" settlement now that may not look too good on you. To be honest why cant you write to him in an open letter and state on receipt of cleared funds you will return the goods within 1/3 days.

If he fails to agree to that bring the letter to the next hearing to show that you offered to resolve the matter.

Remember the Court is the last straw and why peole insist on representing themselves is beyond me, if you want a job done get a professional and seek your costs form the other side.

Look what happened to poor Paul Mc's wife fired her team, represented herself and received a pittance and a bad deal for the kid if i may say.
 
Hi Hasslehoff,

The reason why I was unsure as to whether I needed a barrister is cause I have never done this before. The small claims court, you represent yourself, and all because he decided to appeal the decision of that court (cause he did not turn up) then I find that we are heading to the circut court. He could have avoided all this sh*t by turning up on the day.
It's all very frustrating. With the small claims court, the max you can claim is €2000. So is the circut court different, would you know if you can claim X amount plus costs??

sorry for the probably stupid questions, it's just as I said I have never gone through this process before.
 
The first matter was heard in the Small Claims Court which you won and which was appealed by the other side. The District Court is known as the Court of first instance, the Small Claims Court is run within the District Court system, when the other party appealed it, it being the case then went upwards to the next court which is the Circuit Court. You only have once chance of appeal (other reasons for elevation though not pertinent here) so this is the last hearing and the Circuit hears cases up to the value €38092 Euro. I would suggest that at such a level you will need a barrister and a solicitor and likewise the other party. Your average €5000 settlement in the Circuit Court can attract legal fees of between 4000 > 6500 upwards per party. The first ruling has no impact on the second hearing, it is a new hearing.
I have a great deal of questions to ask but I think you should cease this thread as you will prejudice your case - get legal advice and assess not only the moral aspect but specifically the legal principles and the strengths and weaknesses of your case.
 
Look what happened to poor Paul Mc's wife fired her team, represented herself and received a pittance and a bad deal for the kid if i may say.
Click to expand...

Her case was flawed from the outset. She is lucky to get what she got.
 
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