Grimshaw & Co - Specialist Leaky Building Lawyers

Interlocutory applications for leaky buildings

An interlocutory application is a Court process that takes place during the leaky building case proceeding that does not dispose of the proceeding itself, but is a procedural step.

The sorts of matters that are dealt with at the interlocutory phase of leaky homes or leaky buildings cases include:

Non-compliance with timetable orders:

If a party fails to comply with their discovery obligations, or to answer interrogatories about the leaky building dispute, within the due time, a party can ask the Court to make orders that they do so.

Ultimately, if they continue to fail to comply, an application can be made to have that party's defence or claim 'struck out',although a Court will usually in practice give a party every opportunity to redress their omission.

The consequence of a defence being struck out is that the plaintiffs can enter judgment against the defendant without the need for a trial, although they may still need to prove the quantum - (the amount of the claim for leaky home damage).

Applications to strike out:

As well as applications seeking to strike out a defence, or claim, for failure to comply with Court-ordered timetables, a party might seek to strike out a claim against it because it believes that the case has no substantial merit.
In other words he/she thinks that the leaky buildings case against them will fail at trial, and rather than go through the expense of a trial, they will ask a Court to stop the proceeding at an earlier stage.

There are strict rules as to the circumstances in which a Court can order that a matter be struck out and should your claim be subject to a strike out application, your solicitor will advise you on its likelihood of success.

Other applications:
There are numerous other applications that your solicitor might advise you to make, or that the other parties might make. If a party considers that another party has not provided enough discovery, they can file an application seeking more documents.

Another example of a commonly made interlocutory application is one to join further parties (as a result of discovery, as discussed above). Also, a party might seek further particulars of a case as it progresses. This will be provided by amending the statement of claim to include more specific details of the claim.

Why use interlocutory applications?

Interlocutory applications should be used to ensure that all parties have sufficient information about the case and that the correct parties are joined to the action. However, it's not unusual for defendants' solicitors to use this stage to slow down the litigation process in order to relieve the pressure on their clients (who are facing a trial), and to frustrate the plaintiffs by dragging the litigation out in the hope that they will lack the resolve to continue.