Tracks & case management

DR.05 — Tracks & Case Management

After a defended claim, the court allocates it to a track. Allocation is driven by the statement of value but the court has discretion (CPR Part 26).

The four tracks

• Small claims track — normally up to £10,000. PI: pain/suffering/loss of amenity (PSLA) element must not exceed £1,000; for non-RTA PI (e.g. employers'/public liability) the PSLA sub-limit is £1,500. Housing disrepair small-claims limit is £1,000. Limited costs recovery — usually only fixed/court fees, not solicitors' costs.
• Fast track — £10,000 to £25,000; trial estimated at no more than one day; expert evidence limited (one expert per party per field, max two fields). Fixed recoverable costs apply.
• Intermediate track — £25,000 to £100,000 (introduced October 2023). For less complex claims, trial no more than three days, max three experts. Subject to fixed recoverable costs by complexity band (1–4).
• Multi-track — over £100,000, or any case too complex for a lower track.

Allocation

On filing the directions questionnaire, the court allocates having regard to factors in CPR 26.13: financial value, nature of remedy, complexity, number of parties, expert evidence, importance to non-parties, and views/circumstances of the parties. Note CPR Part 26 was renumbered in force 6 April 2024 — the substance is unchanged but rule numbers differ from older materials.

Case management

The overriding objective (CPR 1.1) — deal with cases justly and at proportionate cost — governs everything. The court actively manages cases (CPR 1.4) and gives directions at allocation (standard directions for small claims/fast track; a costs and case management conference (CCMC) with costs budgets / Precedent H on the multi-track).

Common traps

• Value vs track ≠ automatic — allocation is the court's decision; statement of value only indicates the normal track. Disregard any amount not genuinely in dispute and any contributory negligence/counterclaim for valuation.
• Don't confuse the PSLA sub-limits (£1,000 RTA / £1,500 non-RTA) with the £10,000 small-claims ceiling.
• The intermediate track is not the fast track — different band, three-day trial, complexity bands drive costs.
• Costs budgeting is a multi-track feature (not fast/intermediate, which use fixed recoverable costs).