Advice Needed- NCP Birmingham International Airport

Hi all, just updating following the mediation call.
I attended the call as required. At the outset, I stopped proceedings and asked for confirmation of the following from the claimant’s side before continuing:

full name,
role/position, and
whether they had authority to negotiate and settle.

The details provided were:
Claimant’s(NCP) solicitors: Moorside Legal
Name: Wouldn't disclose
Role: Paralegal

Authority: Confirmed they had authority to mediate
I then confirmed I was content to proceed on that basis.

The claimant attempted to make an offer of £150, which I declined. I clearly stated and repeated my position:

“My settlement offer is £0, or I invite the claimant to discontinue with no order as to costs.”

I was asked why, and I simply repeated the same position. I did not engage further.

No agreement was reached and the mediator marked the matter as not settled.

Can I ask what are the next possible outcomes for next steps?

I'm assuming either they drop it or they bring it to small claims court? If it's the latter, what are your standard timelines etc. As always any and all advice is welcome

The advice will always be to search the forums are there's countless examples on these standard proceedings. It's always going to be faster than waiting on someone to respond with the same info.

The next step will usually be allocation to the court you specified in your N180, with key dates such as when the claimant has to pay the court fee and when both parties need to file Witness Statements. However you should do some research so that you’re not surprised, and post what you receive in due course.

Firstly, thank you for all of your support. Just want to follow up to see if there's any rough guidance in relation to timelines. Am somewhat conscious I've received nothing since having my mediation call 3 weeks ago. Is it mail/email that is typically the next correspondance?

Can take ages.

You'll get a message saying that it has been allocated to your local Court.

This can take months some times.

Hi all,

Appreciate that it's been awhile and having searched through the forum and not finding this exact scenario, hoping you can advise. I've had a "Notice of Trial Date" come through where it outlines that the claimant has to pay the court trail fee of £27 by 4pm on the 21st of September, however, in the same letter pack, I also received a "Notice of Allocation to the Small Claims Track (Hearing)", in which it's asking "The parties must send copies of their witness statements and documents to the court and each other no later than 4pm on the 17th of September".

Other cases, I've seen that the fee would need to be paid prior to submitting Witness statements etc. Can you please advise? Happy to upload photos of the letters if it helps?

Thanks as always for your support

It’d be helpful if you would upload documents received rather than summarising them.

However, you seem to have provided most of the details. You should prepare a draft witness statement so that you can submit it on 17 September if necessary, but remember that the claimant has to do the same. If they do, your WS can comment on theirs, so leave submission until the latest possible. The claimant will either discontinue by 17 September, or will not discontinue and not submit a WS - in which case you submit a WS including the point that the claimant has not done so - or they do not discontinue and submit a WS - in which case you can comment on theirs WS in yours.

Essentially you should assume this will go to court as scheduled and prepare accordingly. Much better than crossing your fingers and hoping and end up in a last minute rush.

So can I assume that if they submit a Witness Statement, that they are likely to pay the trial fee 4 days after the deadline for "Witness Statement" submission?

Any advice for the "Witness Statement" or am I best to search through the forums to replicate another case?

The witness statement is your story, so I suggest only searching for examples and ideas, but I think that’s what you’re saying.
If they submit a WS it would be silly to waste time and effort if they’re going to discontinue a few days later.
But that’s just common sense, who knows what will actually happen?