Procedure & practice
The mean deem
The deemed date of service of a claim form under r 6.7 is irrebuttable. It could even be on a Sunday when there are no postal deliveries. Or it could be on a date after which service was effected. So tough if, say, a claim form is deemed served outside the four-month period for service when it was actually served within it—especially if the claim is statute barred. Amendments to r 7.5 require despatch, ie posting, leaving with or collection by the relevant service provider, rather than receipt of the claim form within four months (“before midnight on the calendar day four months after the date of issue of the claim form” which should lead to some mind boggling arguments about the precise time at which the claimant shoved his hand into the postbox and whether his wristwatch may have been slow). The defendant's time for acknowledging service and filing a defence will then depend on the date of deemed service.
The business of service
A standard period for determining the date of deemed service of a claim
