Court changes – the importance of getting it right

From 14 August 2023 onwards, The County Court Money Claims Centre (previously based in Salford) and the County Court Business Centre (previously based in Northampton) have been replaced by the creation of the Civil National Business Centre at Northampton.

Work has been transferred from the CCMCC to the CNBC, and the CCBC has undergone a name change to the CNBC.

Changes of a technical nature to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) at Parts 3, 7, 13, 14, 26, 71, 72, 73, 83, 84, and 89 have entered into force, pursuant to the Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) Rules 2023. All of those Parts now refer to the CNBC and exclude any reference to the predecessor Centres.

Practically, any new claim or application received at the CNBC prior to 1 September 2023 which bears the old names of the CCBC or CCMCC would be accepted. Any outputs will show the new name of the CNBC from 14 August 2023 onwards.

Importantly, any new claim or application received on or after 1 September 2023 which bears either of the old names and not the new ‘Civil National Business Centre’ name will be returned to the sender.

Separately, the CNBC is concentrating on reducing the backlog of papers to be processed and aims to reduce the turnaround time for the service to under 10 days, by the end of December 2023.

Failure to issue correctly could be fatal if you are up against the limitation period.

To find out more, speak to our Commerical Litigation Solicitors or contact Wilson Browne directly on 0800 088 6004