THE TURKS & CAICOS ISLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Stephen Wilson KC, Dominique Gardiner and Lovelie Luxama, Wilson Wells
4. Pre-Trial Proceedings 4.1 Interim Applications/Motions
is an intention to defend it. The usual time for filing an acknowledgment of service at the Supreme Court Registry is 14 days in the case of a party served with- in the jurisdiction, or 28 days in the case of a party served outside the jurisdiction. 3.6 Failure to Respond If a defendant to Magistrate’s Court proceedings does not respond to a civil complaint, judgment may be entered against them, but the plaintiff must first prove their case. In the Supreme Court, where a defendant who has been served with process fails to give notice of inten- tion to defend or – having given notice of intention to defend – fails to file a defence, the plaintiff may enter a judgment in default simply by filing the judgment at court together with a proof of service in certain lim- ited cases. In all other cases, the plaintiff will have to proceed with the action as if the defendant had given notice of intention to defend, although the plaintiff may apply to the court for judgment and, on the hearing of the application, the court shall give such judgment as the plaintiff appears entitled to on their statement of claim. If a judgment in default is entered against a defend- ant, it may be subsequently set aside if the defendant is able to show that it was wrongly entered or if they are able to show some good reason why it should be permitted to defend the claim. In these circumstances, the court can exercise its discretion to set aside the default judgment. 3.7 Representative or Collective Actions There are no specific provisions in the rules of court for collective/class actions per se; however, Order 15, rule 12 makes provision for representative proceed- ings where numerous persons have the same interest. They may be begun by or against one or more of them, representing all or some of them. 3.8 Requirements for Cost Estimate There are no requirements for an attorney to provide a client with a cost estimate of the potential litigation at the outset; however, most clients request an estimate and it is good practice to provide one.
It is possible to make interlocutory applications before trial or the substantive hearing of a claim. Indeed, in certain urgent cases, it is possible to seek orders prior to the formal issuing of proceedings. Such interlocu- tory applications are not limited to case management issues, and parties are able to obtain remedies (such In Supreme Court proceedings, in addition to the abil- ity to enter judgment in default referred to in 3.6 Fail- ure to Respond , the party bringing a claim (whether as plaintiff or as counterclaiming defendant) may seek (prior to trial) one or more of the following in circum- stances where the defendant has acknowledged ser- vice by giving notice of intention to defend. as interim injunctions) from the court. 4.2 Early Judgment Applications • Summary judgment on a cause of action on the grounds that there is plainly no defence to the claim (or part thereof) – a statement of claim must have been served on the defendant and the application must be supported by an affidavit that verifies the facts on which the claim or part of the claim is based. The affidavit must state that, in the deponent’s belief, there is no defence to the claim or the part of it on which judgment is sought, except possibly in relation to the amount of dam- ages claimed. • The determination of any question of law or con- struction of any document arising in any cause or matter where it appears to the court that such question is suitable for determination without a full trial of the action and such determination will finally determine (subject to any possible appeal) the entire cause or matter, or any claim or issue therein. • The determination of one or more preliminary issues. A party may apply to have all or part of a pleading struck out on the basis that: • it discloses no reasonable cause of action or defence, as the case may be; • it is scandalous, frivolous or vexatious;
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