According to the Magistrate Court Rules of 2007
⚓To be informed is to be armed⚓💪💪
Defending a matter can be stressful process.
The lawyer's, by nature of their job, tend to have plenty of work piling up on their desks.
This can lead to some cases not getting due attention. The result can be fatal. In fact, it is folly to leave tracking progress of your case to the lawyer's alone.
Here is heads up on what you should know, watch out for and keep tracking to ensure you don't unnecessarily lose a case.
But just a quick one here: Always make sure you get a photocopy of every paper filed at court. That will help you in many ways which we can't exhaust here.
Put your Comment downstairs and we will discuss them in detail.
For now, let munch through the procedures.
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🔵Procedure 🔵
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1
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After you have received summons from the Plaintiff, ensure that a court paper called Appearance to Defend is prepared and filed at court within 7 days from the day you received the summons
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2a
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Within those 7 days, if you feel the claim is justified and legal and there are no issues to argue over, ensure you come up with a Consent Paper and file it at court and serve Plaintiff with a copy
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2b
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Within those 7 days, if you do not agree to the claim, ensure that through your lawyer, you file a plea which is a document stating your position that you deny the claim in its entirety .
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2c
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Within those 7 days, if you do not agree to the claim, and you feel that the claim is not clear, ensure that you file at court and serve Plaintiff with a copy of Request For Further Particulars in which you are seeking further clarification. You are basically asking the Plaintiff to provide more information about his claim.
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2d
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Within those 7 days, ensure that you file your counterclaim.
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Ensure that you promptly settle the claim to the lawyer and keep the proof of settlement. Be wise to quickly ask for court and legal charges which you have already incurred as a result of the court action by Plaintiff.
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Ensure that 3 copies are stamped and one is filed at court, the other is served to Plaintiff, the other is filed in your filed at the lawyer's office. Get a photocopy for record purposes.
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These requests must be served within 7 days from the time Plaintiff serves you with replies.
You can ask for these clarifications several times and then you think you have enough information regarding the claim, ensure that you file a Plea.
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If you do not have the money to pay promptly, ensure you prepare a Deed of Settlement and have your lawyer discuss your proposed plan of payment.
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Expect a response in the form of papers called Pre Trial Conference papers in which Plaintiff is outlining issues which he believes need to be debated for the court to determine whether you are liable or not. Ensure you get the date of that PTC.
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When you have filed a Plea, expect to receive Pre Trial Conference papers from Plaintiff. In the Plea, you have the opportunity to consent to part of the claim and deny the other parts. In this case, you simply file a Deed of Settlement for the part that you agree to. As for other parts, file and serve Requests For Further Particulars for the part that you don’t agree to.
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Once both parties have agreed to the terms, file the final version at court and stick to the terms.
A court case must be settled through court process. Insist on the Deed of Settlement drawn up and filed at court. Get a court stamped copy. It will defend you in future if anything goes the wrong way.
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If you think there are other issues which they have left out and want them included, ensure that you file yours at court and serve a copy to Plaintiff before the PTC date.
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Ensure the the following process is done :
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On the PTC day, ensure that you attend. If you have decided to acceed to the claim, you can offer your consent. The magistrate will draw up the terms of the order. The clerk of court will type the order.
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Ensure that you fulfil the terms of the order granted . If you fail, be quick to communicate to the other party beforehand and offer a remedy.
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Fialure to communicate effectively can lead Plaintiff to prepare a Warrant of Execution which will lead to you losing property, resources or freedom.
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In the event that you want the issues debated in an open court, ensure that during the Pretrial Conference meeting, you agree on the issues to be debated.
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You will be given a court date during PTC. Ensure you prepare your evidence and arguments.
Make available all the evidence available to your lawyer, no matter how small or silly. The lawyer will decide how to use it.
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Attend court.
Do attend court. Failure to do so detrimental. You can lose a case and resources if you are not diligent l.
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If judgment is granted against you, Plaintiff will most likely immediately file an Order and Warrant of Execution to enforce judgement. Ensure that you propose, discuss and agree on a Deed of Settlement.
Ensure the Deed of Settlement is signed and filed. Get a copy with court stamp.
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If you fail to comply with the judgment, the Messenger of Court may effect the Order which comes in various forms: attachment of property, eviction, garnishing of salary or bank accounts, restrictions etc
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