Fradkina v Network Housing Association

Where several live actions between the same parties arise from the same tenancy or property, the Court of Appeal may vary an earlier venue order so that the proceedings can be transferred to another county court, consolidated and managed efficiently. The county court’s jurisdiction is unlimited, so a claim involving damages exceeding £15,000 does not prevent such a transfer. A default judgment need not be entered where the defendant has served a defence raising issues on the merits.

The claimant brought several proceedings against her housing association landlord concerning the condition of her accommodation, possession, rent and alleged breaches of her rights. Three actions remained live. Master Trench refused default judgment in the claimant’s fourth action because the defendant had served a defence on the merits, and directed that the action be transferred to the Willesden County Court for consolidation.

The claimant appealed and sought variation of an earlier Court of Appeal order requiring the other actions to proceed at Willesden. The central issue was whether all three live actions should instead be transferred to the Central London County Court and consolidated there.

The Court of Appeal varied the order and directed that the fourth action, together with the two other outstanding actions, be transferred to the Central London County Court for consolidation.

1. Transfer and consolidation. The related proceedings concerned the same parties, tenancy and property. In light of the claimant’s previous difficulties at Willesden and the absence of opposition from the defendant, it was desirable to vary the earlier order and use a different county court as the common venue. The court encouraged the claimant to obtain a case management conference so that directions could be given and the actions could proceed to trial without further delay.
2. County court jurisdiction. The claimant’s concern that the county court could not award more than £15,000 in damages was unfounded. The court explained that the county court’s jurisdiction was unlimited. The proposed transfer therefore created no jurisdictional obstacle to the claim for damages for alleged Convention-rights breaches.
3. Default judgment. The fourth action had been transferred because the defendant had served a defence dated 22 May 2002 which raised matters requiring determination on the merits. The Court of Appeal made no order entering judgment in default.

The claimant was ordered to pay the respondent’s costs assessed at £1,500. The costs were not payable unless the claimant recovered damages in the consolidated actions, when they were to be set off against those damages.

1. Court of Appeal (Civil Division): varied the order and directed that the fourth action and the two other outstanding actions be transferred to the Central London County Court for consolidation.
2. High Court, Queen’s Bench Division: on 20 June 2002, Master Trench refused default judgment and directed that the fourth action be transferred to the Willesden County Court for consolidation.