JERSEY Law and Practice Contributed by: Marcus Pallot and Eleanor Davies, Carey Olsen
tice), it must be carried out by the Viscount of Jersey (the executive officer of the Courts of Jersey). How- ever, where personal service is not required under the rules, a party may effect personal service by attend- ing in person themselves and leaving the document with the person to be served, without the Viscount’s involvement. Where personal service is required by the RCR but is not possible, the plaintiff may apply to the court for an order permitting “substituted service”. This allows the document to be brought to the attention of the party to be served by some other means, such as email, as determined by the court. Service Out of the Jurisdiction The process for applying to the court for permission to serve a party outside of the jurisdiction of Jersey is considered in 3.3 Jurisdictional Requirements for a Defendant . Where permission to serve the party outside of the jurisdiction is granted by the court, the court will gen- erally specify the means through which service shall be effected, typically by post and/or by email. The court will also stipulate a return date upon which the defendant is to appear. 3.6 Failure to Respond There is no need for a defendant to respond prior to attending the first hearing of an action to which they have been summoned. If they do not attend, the plaintiff may apply for judgment by default against the defendant at the first hearing. 3.7 Representative or Collective Actions There is no need for a defendant to respond prior to attending the first hearing of an action to which they have been summoned. If they do not attend, the plaintiff may apply for judgment by default against the defendant at the first hearing. 3.8 Requirements for Cost Estimate There are no requirements in Jersey to provide cli- ents with a cost estimate of the potential litigation at the outset. In practice, however, this is commonly provided at the request of a client. Where the val- ue of the claim (including any counterclaim) is less
than GBP500,000, all parties are required to file and exchange cost budgets at least seven days before the first directions hearing. There is currently no require- ment to do so in cases worth more than GBP500,000.
4. Pre-Trial Proceedings 4.1 Interim Applications/Motions
During the course of proceedings, any party may make an interlocutory application to the court, which is any application made in the intermediary stage after com- mencement but before the final determination of the action, and in which the applying party seeks some form of relief from the court. Interlocutory applications are not limited to case man- agement issues and may be used to obtain interim remedies. An interlocutory application may include an application: • for directions from the court as to the timeline and manner in which the action should progress; • to strike out all or part of the other side’s case; or • for an order that the plaintiff provides security for the defendant’s costs. 4.2 Early Judgment Applications A party may apply for summary judgment in respect of some or all of the issues in dispute. Under the RCR, an application for summary judgment will only be granted if the court is satisfied that: • the plaintiff has no real prospect of succeeding on the claim or issue, or the defendant has no real prospect of successfully defending the claim or issue; and • there is no other compelling reason why the case or issue should be disposed of at a trial. In order to grant summary judgment, the court will effectively need to be convinced that it is clear that the plaintiff or defendant has no case in respect of the claim or issue in question, and that there is no serious conflict between the parties as to matters of fact and/or law.
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