Credit Hire Litigation

Credit hire cases are rarely difficult because of one isolated issue. A substantial claim may involve impecuniosity, basic hire rate evidence, need, period, mitigation, intervention, enforceability, witness evidence and procedural questions at the same time.

I advise and appear in substantial and difficult credit hire litigation for claimants and defendants. I am usually instructed where the case requires close analysis of the evidence, a difficult point of law, significant quantum, careful trial strategy or experienced advocacy.

When I am instructed

I am commonly instructed where a credit hire claim involves:

• Impecuniosity and the claimant’s financial evidence;
• Basic hire rate evidence and the proper comparator;
• Need for a replacement vehicle;
• The reasonable period of hire;
• Mitigation and intervention offers;
• Enforceability of the credit hire agreement;
• Misrepresentation, mistake or contractual disputes;
• Taxis, private hire vehicles, fleet vehicles or other profit-earning chattels;
• Loss of profits or other consequential losses;
• Insurance issues;
• Fundamental dishonesty or alleged fraud;
• Disclosure, witness evidence and expert evidence;
• Pleading and procedural issues;
• Substantial claims where several of these issues interact.

Case strategy

Good credit hire litigation requires more than knowing the authorities. The important question is often which issues really matter, what evidence is needed to prove or defeat them, and how the case should be presented at trial.

I advise before proceedings, after pleadings, following disclosure, before trial and when an unexpected issue arises during the life of the case. I also draft pleadings, advices, skeleton arguments and other written submissions where specialist input is justified.

Trials and applications

I appear in credit hire trials and related applications. I am particularly interested in cases where the value or complexity makes experienced specialist advocacy proportionate: substantial hire charges, difficult evidential disputes, commercial vehicles, unusual contractual questions or points likely to have wider significance.

Credit hire cases often turn on apparently small factual questions. A claimant’s explanation of financial circumstances, the reliability of rates evidence, the timing of repair or replacement, or the wording of an intervention letter may determine a large part of the claim. Preparation for those issues matters.

Claimant and defendant work

I act for both claimants and defendants. That is useful in this field. The same evidence must be tested from both directions, and an argument is easier to assess when one understands how it is likely to be put on the other side.

I also advise credit hire organisations and insurers where a dispute raises a question with consequences beyond a single claim.

What to send

For advice on a substantial or difficult credit hire case, it is usually helpful to send:

• The pleadings;
• The credit hire agreement and associated documentation;
• The claimant’s witness statement and relevant financial evidence;
• The rates evidence relied upon by each side;
• Repair, total loss or replacement documents relevant to period;
• Any intervention correspondence;
• Relevant expert evidence;
• Key orders and procedural correspondence;
• The trial or hearing date;
• A short note identifying the issues on which advice is required.

A short explanation of the real difficulty is generally more useful than a large bundle sent without context.