The Defendant must acknowledge service of the particulars of claim. The procedure for filing an acknowledgment of service is set out in the Civil Procedure Rules. The word ‘filing’ means that the Defendant must deliver the acknowledgment of service, by post or otherwise, to the court office, and the court will then notify the Claimant of this.
There is an advantage to the Defendant in filing an acknowledgment of service. The period for filing a defence is normally 14 days after service of the particulars of claim but it is extended to 28 days after service of the particulars of claim if the Defendant files an acknowledgment of service within 14 days of service of the particulars of claim. Therefore, a Defendant who files an acknowledgement of service has twice as long to file a defence when compared to a Defendant who chooses not to file an acknowledgment of service. If a Defendant fails to either file an acknowledgment of service or a defence within 14 days, the Claimant has the opportunity to obtain ‘judgment in default’. If a Claimant does not apply for default judgment, there is nothing to prevent the Defendant from filing a late acknowledgment of service.
The contents of an acknowledgment of service are straightforward. An acknowledgment of service must be signed by the Defendant or his legal representative, and must include the Defendant’s address for service. If the Defendant is a company or other corporation, a person holding a senior position in the company or corporation may sign the acknowledgment of service on the Defendant’s behalf, so long as he states the position he holds. However, it is not sufficient for the acknowledgment of service to be signed on behalf of the Defendant by a third party other than a legal representative, such as an accountant.
If the acknowledgment of service does not conform to these basis requirements, the court must return the acknowledgment of service to the Defendant and the Defendant must file a correctly completed version. This could cause problems for the Defendant, for example if 14 days have elapsed since service of the Particulars of Claim and the Claimant has applied for default judgment.
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