What do we mean by “civil litigation”?

If there is any kind of argument which is not family or criminal in nature, the chances are that it is a civil law dispute. Litigation in this context merely means a legal case between two or more individuals. We are used to dealing with the civil litigation arising from all kinds of situations, some examples are listed below:-

• Faulty goods or services
• Neighbour and boundary dispute
• Breaches of contracts or agreements
• Negligence
• Probate/estate disputes
• Intellectual property disputes

Although each set of facts are unique, whatever problems you have, we will have dealt with cases like it before.

If the dispute has to be taken to Court, then proceedings are issued in either the County Court or the High Court, depending on the value and complexity of the claim. Unless the claim is a small claim (£5,000 or less in value), it is usual to have a solicitor conduct the case for you.

As soon as a case is started, whether you are bringing it (you become known as the ‘Claimant’) or it is being brought against you (known as the ‘Defendant’), legal costs can run up very quickly. Litigation is expensive but it can sometimes be unavoidable.

If you lose a legal case, you will usually be ordered to pay not only your own legal costs but also those of your opponent. For this reason (and also because the Court can penalise you if you don’t) we actively encourage all disputes to engage in Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) which can include things such as a mediation and negotiation meeting to try to resolve matters before they get to trial.

If you’d like to know more then please contact us.