How do I check if legal action has commenced between two parties ?

[B_Cal]

For a business timing related reason I need to understand if legal action has commenced between two parties.

Other than knowing the parties names and the likely region in which the action(s) will be filed, where is the best place to find out if the actions have been lodged ?

I can't give the parties names

Many thanks for any pointers

Roy

[AdamW]

Phone the local county or small claims courts? Check HMRC website for cause lists?

[B_Cal]

It will be local county or central London - it will be big league stuff when it comes to court

Thanks

Roy

[Employment Law Clinic]

Assuming the matter is civil action, it will normally be lodged in the County Court service, although as B Cal says, big league stuff goes to the High Court in London - the super County Court.

A case can actually be lodged in any County Court in the country, not just the local one, although if it is resisted and a hearing arranged, the case will normally be allocated then to the local court of the defendant.

As it's all in the public domain, as long as you have sufficient information on the parties - names, etc as would entered on the court papers - any County Court should be able to trace & tell you the progress on the case; if asked about your interest (shouldn't be) you can simply state that you're an interested member of the public.

If you make no progress, please feel free to PM the details as available, and I'll raise it when I next speak to the courts.

Finally, some offices are particularly slow and offer terrible service. If you're waiting a while on the phone, best simply to give up & call another court - the information will still be available, and some courts are much better at handling queries than others.

Good luck,

Karl
Employment Law Clinic (.com - must sort out a signature one day...)

[Employment Law Clinic]

Sorry Roy, just realised you mentioned the High Court yourself. Case details should still be found from local County Court offices, as they are the same as the big one in London for these matters, just more experienced judges in London.