GUERNSEY Law and Practice Contributed by: Elaine Gray and Steven Balmer, Carey Olsen
4. Pre-Trial Proceedings 4.1 Interim Applications/Motions
the Royal Court Civil Rules and the Hague Conven- tion) is permissible. 3.6 Failure to Respond In every proceeding, a defendant will be summonsed to appear at court on a specified date in order to respond to the claim against them. Should a defend- ant fail to attend on the return date and/or fail to indi- cate that the matter is to be defended, the plaintiff may apply to the court for judgment by default; simi- larly, judgment in default may be given if a defendant fails to table their defences on the due date. Where judgment in default of appearance or in default of defences is obtained, a defendant may apply to the court for the judgment to be set aside upon affidavit evidence setting out the reasons for the application. 3.7 Representative or Collective Actions Representative actions are permitted where more than one person has the same interest in a claim (Royal Court Civil Rules, Rule 33). Unless the court directs otherwise, any judgment or order given in a claim where a representative party is acting shall be binding on those represented in the claim. However, a judgment may only be enforced by or against a person who is not a party to the claim with the court’s permission. There is also provision for representation of interested parties who cannot be ascertained, for example in actions concerning the estate of a deceased person or property subject to a trust (Royal Court Civil Rules, Rule 34). The Rules also make provision for beneficiar- ies to be represented by trustees in appropriate cases, and for any judgment or order given to be binding on the beneficiaries (Royal Court Civil Rules, Rule 35). 3.8 Requirements for Cost Estimate There is no provision in Guernsey’s court rules which requires advocates to provide a cost estimate or budget at the outset of litigation. However, under the rules of professional conduct applicable to Guernsey advocates, clients must be issued with an engage- ment letter, should be given information about the likely costs at the beginning of a matter, and kept regularly updated throughout.
It is possible to make interim applications before the trial or substantive hearings in a claim and such appli- cations are frequently made. Applications range from case management matters, such as further and bet- ter particulars or disclosure, to standalone substan- tive issues, such as strike out, hearings of preliminary issues or interim injunctions. 4.2 Early Judgment Applications Guernsey’s court rules contain provisions enabling early judgment applications. In particular, an appli- cation can be brought for summary judgment (Royal Court Civil Rules, Rule 20) or to strike out a party’s pleading in whole or in part (Royal Court Civil Rules, Rule 52). Summary Judgment The Rules permit the court to give summary judgment at any time after the pleadings have closed, where the court is satisfied that the other party has no real pros- pect of succeeding on the claim or defence and there is no other compelling reason why the claim should be disposed of at a trial. An application needs to be served on the defendant a minimum of four clear days before the application is to be heard. It must be supported by an affidavit that sets out the effect of the application, if successful. The affidavit should also identify concisely any point of law or any provision of a document on which the appli- cant relies. It should state that the application is made because, on the evidence, the applicant believes the respondent has no real prospect of succeeding and, further, that the applicant is not aware of any other reason why the case must be disposed of at a trial. Strike Out The court may exercise its discretion to strike out a pleading where it appears to the court that the plead- ing discloses no reasonable grounds for bringing or defending the action or is an abuse of the court’s pro- cess or there has been a failure to comply with the court’s process.
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