Max Withington believes proposed model directions to be used in credit hire cases are on the right track
The Civil Procedure Rules Committee consultation on proposed model directions to be used in credit hire cases closed in early August and the feedback is now being analysed. There were a number of features in the proposed draft which were encouraging. In particular the proposal that credit hire provisions on disclosure and witness evidence be dealt with early in proceedings as distinct steps from the rest of the directions, and that the order’s provisions are to apply to all tracks.
Anything which seeks to reduce the amount and costs of credit hire litigation is to be welcomed. The consultation has incited a hopeful response in that any order introduced would substantially reduce or eliminate the satellite litigation and frictional costs currently being expended on the issue of directions and disclosure. But to do so, the order will need to create certainty and consistency around the evidential requirements on both sides, setting them out in plain language and avoiding caveats or ambiguities wherever possible.
