The Gazette 1995

GAZETTE

OCTOBER 1995

P R A C T I C E

N O T E S

New Circuit Court Rules

Statutory Instrument No. 216/1995 came

I into existence on the 1st October 1995.

These new Rules provide for changes in

procedure in the following areas:

(a) The issue of Civil Bills and other

originating documents prior to

service.

(b) Renewal of Civil Bills.

(d) Delivery of Defence without the

necessity of lodging same in the

Circuit Court Office, with

consequent changes in applications

for Judgment in default of Defence

and applications "for summary

Judgment.

Issues of Civil Bill

! The Rules provide that every Civil Bill

or originating document must be issued

from the Circuit Court office. It will be

sealed, dated and marked with the

Record Number. It must be accompanied

by a copy and a Request for Entry. It will

j then be returned to the solicitor for

service in the normal way. Some County

Registrars have suggested that the issue

of Civil Bills will be expedited if

practitioners were to enclose an

j addressed envelope with the Civil Bill.

Filing of Documents:

The Defendant's solicitor enters an

Appearance in the usual way, that is by

filing same with the County Registrar

and serving it on the Plaintiffs solicitor.

No further pleadings are filed by either

party, in other words it is not necessary

to file the Request for Particulars, the

i Replies to Particulars, nor is it necessary

for the Defendant to file the Defence.

i These documents are, of course,

: exchanged between the parties, but not

filed in the Circuit Court Office.

The Notice of Trial is filed in the Circuit

Court Office and of course served on the

other party.

Books of Pleadings:

A book of pleadings will clearly be

required for the Judge who is to try the

matter. The practice varies from Circuit

to Circuit. In default of there being any

practice, the recommendation of the

Litigation Committee is that the party

serving the Notice of Trial should have

available to lodge on the Trial date a full

book of pleadings, set out chrono-

logically and in legible form. This books

of pleadings can be handed in on the day,

unless the Court otherwise directs.

Renewal of Civil Bills:

The Civil Bill shall be in force for 12

months after the date of issue. The

Plaintiff prior to the expiration of that

12 months, may apply to the County

Registrar to renew the Civil Bill.

If the 12 months has expired an

application to extend time to renew

must be made to the Court.

When an application to renew is made,

either the Court or the County Registrar

(as appropriate) must be satisfied that

reasonable efforts have been made to

serve the Defendants.

On satisfying the County Registrar or

the Court the document may be renewed

for another six months.

The Defendant, where a Civil Bill has

been renewed, may serve a Notice of

Motion to set aside such Order prior to

entering an Appearance.

Service of Civil Bills:

Service in the normal course of events

will be by registered post, save if there

is a Summons Server appointed to the

area. The Summons Server's fee where

one has been appointed is £25.00.

Lodgements

A Defendant may at the time of entering

an Appearance made a Lodgment which

he alleges is sufficient to satisfy the

Plaintiffs claim. Such lodgment may

also be made at any time after the Entry

of an Appearance, but in any event, no

later than:

Dublin Circuit

- At least eight weeks

before the hearing

date mentioned in the

Notice of Trial

Outside Dublin

- At least eight weeks

before the date on

which the case is first

due to be heard.

The practice of making notional

lodgements should be discontinued. No

possible advantage now derives from

the making of a notional lodgment.

Motions for Judgment in Default of

Defence

There are consequential amendments to

the procedure for obtaining Judgment in

default of Defence in the office. The

Plaintiff or his solicitor must lodge an

Affidavit verifying that an Appearance

has been entered and no Defence has

been delivered. This takes the place of

the former Certificate of No Defence.

The Affidavit regarding the non-

delivery of the Defence must be

enclosed with the Notice of Motion.

Other Provisions

It is recommended that practitioners

should familiarise themselves in full

with Statutory Instrument 216/95.

Section 4(5) Value-Added Tax

1972 Effect of Section 122(A),

(B) Finance Act 1995

When a supply of property is liable to

VAT the charge extends to the whole of

the property, including the site. No

difficulty should arise in this regard

when a purchaser is dealing with a

single vendor. A difficulty could arise

when a purchaser acquires his interest in

the site from one person and has

contracted with another person to carry

out the building work on the site.

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