A Notice of Hearing should not be attached to the subpoena and complaint when it is served. At this stage of the case, the court does not know whether the defendant will respond and therefore whether a hearing is necessary. A hearing and notice of hearing to the parties should not be scheduled until the defendant has filed a response with the court or filed a response within the prescribed time and has been delayed by the court. In this way, the claimant can know at the hearing whether the defendant is contesting his claim and, if so, on what basis he is contesting the claimant`s claim, whether he is filing a counterclaim against the claimant, and what evidence the claimant must present to the court. Either party to a civil action may make an offer to an opposing party to obtain judgment against the party for money or property or in the effect specified in the offer with costs accrued up to the date of the offer. The offer must be made at least 10 days before the test phase. If a party makes an offer to adjudicate on an amount to be decided against it, the opposing party must consider and accept, reject or ignore the offer. Written notification of acceptance of the offer must be sent to the other party. Each party may then submit the offer and declaration of acceptance as well as proof of service to the court, which will rule on the matter.
A tender which has not been accepted shall be deemed to have been rejected and proof of the tender shall be admissible only in the context of a costing procedure. (Rule 20(a)) CSRLC). If the offer of judgment is rejected or ignored and the Bidder receives a judgment as favourable as the Bid, the Bidder (1) will receive the legal costs from the date of the bid until the judgment is rendered; and (2) as plaintiff, 8% interest on the judgment calculated from the date of the offer until the date of registration of the judgment; or (3) as respondent, an 8% reduction in interest on the judgment, calculated on the amount of the judgment or award from the date of the offer until the judgment is registered. (Article 20b) CSRLC). The Tribunal shall provide the claimant with a copy of the response and any counterclaim in the manner provided for in Rule 8 CSIRC. In cases where a defendant has been served, has not filed a response within the prescribed time, is in default and the application is directed to an unliquidated amount, the court must order a hearing for damages on behalf of the plaintiff to prove the amount of his or her injury or claim. The court must inform the defendant and plaintiff of the date and time of the hearing. The defendant has the right to attend the hearing if he or she so wishes. If the defaulting defendant appears at the hearing for damages, he or she is not entitled to present evidence or witness statements that dispute the plaintiff`s liability. The participation of a defaulting party in a hearing for damages is limited to objecting to the evidence and cross-examining the plaintiff`s witnesses. In unsettled actions where the amount claimed is not readily ascertainable and must be determined by the court, a hearing for damages must be held if the defendant is in default. An example of this is when the defendant damaged the plaintiff`s vehicle.
The amount of this damage has not yet been determined, so the plaintiff must appear at the hearing to obtain damages and prove the amount of his injury. Any party to a civil action (plaintiff or defendant) may default and be convicted against him because of his delinquency. A defendant may be in default if he does not file a response to the plaintiff`s complaint or file a response within the time prescribed in the summons. This period is thirty (30) days. If the defendant does not respond to the complaint within the time limit, the court must sign a notice of default and inform the plaintiff. If the claim is a liquidated amount, or if the claim relates to the balance of an account and a signed notarized statement of account has been attached to the claim served on the defendant, the court must render a default judgment on the plaintiff. (Section 11 of the CSIRC). When a defendant submits its response to the court, it may file a counterclaim against the plaintiff.
If the respondent files a counterclaim against the claimant pursuant to Rule 9 of the CSRCM, the claims contained in the counterclaim are deemed to have been dismissed by the claimant and the claimant is not required to file a response or response to a counterclaim filed by the defendant. However, a claimant may respond to the counterclaim if it so wishes. Therefore, a claimant cannot default because it has not responded to a counterclaim. The judge may not continue a civil trial without a jury for more than ninety (90) days from the date of presentation or a civil proceeding in which a jury trial has been requested for more than one hundred and twenty (120) days from the date of presentation without a valid reason having been shown to the court. (See Order of the President of the Supreme Court of 14 February 2011). The defendant in a counterclaim may waive the excess of the claim over the maximum jurisdiction in order to bring it before the Magistrate Court. If the defendant waives part of the counterclaim, a separate action cannot be upheld for the remainder of the action. If the defendant does not waive the deductible, the entire box will be transferred to the district court and judged in response to the box originally deposited there.
