LEGAL PRACTICE COURSE

Civil Litigation
Workshop 5

Topic(s):
 The particulars of claim

Skills:
 Drafting

Learning Outcomes:
By the end of this session you will be able to:
 Analyse a case for a claimant both factually and legally
 Apply the CPR when drafting particulars of claim
 Identify the elements of a particulars of claim

Session Activities:
 Analysing a claimant’s case
 Discussing the elements of the particulars of claim
 Drafting the particulars of claim

Materials Attached:
 Case file - Amelia Gordon
 Sample extracts of particulars of claim

Materials to be Provided In-Session

 Structure for drafting particulars of claim (d2)
 Exemplar particulars of claim (d3)

Preparation for Session:

 Reading: Chapters 7.1 and 7.2 of the Civil Litigation manual
 Task 1: Read the materials attached and review your LG 4 drafting notes including the
contract claim aide memoire. You may also find it helpful to look at the particulars of
claim in previous litigation or advocacy sessions
 Revise your contract law, if you are unsure of some of the legal issues raised by the
advance facts
 Analyse the case, both factually and legally, so that you are ready to draft particulars of
claim

Post-Session:
 Complete the particulars of claim (d3) and ensure you understand the rationale behind it
and compare with exemplar particulars of claim (d3)

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© City, University of London 2022 2/14 2022-lpc-civlit-ws05-d1
 Bridal Couture by Amelia
Unit 4 Waterloo Road
Chiswick
London
W5 2NK
Tel: 020 8455 7145
Fax: 020 8457 6520
Email: amelia@couture.co.uk

Marcus Fisher
Managing Director
Silk Weaves Limited
Compton Industrial Estate
Wolverhampton 18 February 2021
WV4 8DD

Dear Marcus,

I enjoyed meeting you at the Wedding Trade Fair earlier this month.

I particularly like the original shades you have been able to produce and also the treatment to
the fabric your process applies which reduces the creasing once the fabric it is made up to
the finished design.

I am pleased to confirm that, after consideration and consultation with my clients, I would like
to place an order for delivery of fabric for the wedding dresses I will be designing and making
over the coming year.

I attach your order form indicating the shades, quantities and dates required. I am today
sending you by bank transfer the sum of £10,125.

During our discussions, I did describe to you the nature of my business and you will
remember that I am a designer of very exclusive wedding gowns and my designs and the
fabrics I use are confidential to my clients until the wedding day itself.

On this basis could you get back to me to confirm that you will be able to meet the delivery
dates and supply the quantities and shades I need.

I look forward to a mutually profitable business relationship between our companies.

With kind regards,

Amelia Gordon

Bridal Couture by Amelia is the trading name of Amelia Gordon

2022-lpc-civlit-ws05-d1 3/1 © City, University of London 2022

 Silk Weaves Limited
Compton Industrial Estate
Wolverhampton WV4 8DD
Tel: 0121 629 5787
www.silk-weave.co.uk

18 February
2021
ORDER FORM

QUANTITY TYPE SHADE DELIVERY PRICE

METRES DATES £1,500 per metre

10 Wedding silk weave Oyster 9 April 2021 £ 15,000

15 Wedding silk weave Dawn white 9 July 2021 £ 22,500

20 Wedding silk weave Blush white 13 January 2022 £ 30,000

TOTAL £ 67,500

TERMS

15% WITH ORDER

35% 6 WEEKS BEFORE DELIVERY

BALANCE ON DELIVERY

Note to customers
Wedding silk weave has been produced from silk sourced from the finest silk worm farms in the world.
Because it is an entirely natural product very occasionally there may be some small imperfections in
the cloth where the natural silk has thickened. These are part of this natural fabric and the buyer is
deemed to accept the fabric on this basis.

Registered Office: Temple Chambers, Adams Street, Wolverhampton WV1

5RX Registered in England: Co. No. 2351679
Directors: Marcus Fisher, Maureen Fisher, David Styles

© City, University of London 2022 4/1 2022-lpc-civlit-ws05-d1

 Silk Weaves Limited
Compton Industrial Estate
Wolverhampton WV4 8DD
Tel: 0121 629 5787
www.silk-weave.co.uk

Ms A Gordon
Bridal Couture by Amelia
Unit 4 Waterloo Road
Chiswick
London
W5 2NK
20 February 2021

Dear Amelia,

We were delighted to receive your order dated 18 February 2021 and acknowledge receipt of
your cheque in the sum of £10,125.

We confirm we will deliver the quantities ordered on the indicated delivery dates.

We would draw your attention to the notice on the order form in relation to the possibility of
small imperfections in the fabric.

We are excited to be associated with a designer of your repute and we look forward to a
mutually beneficial relationship.

Yours sincerely,

Marcus Fisher
Managing Director

Registered Office: Temple Chambers, Adams Street, Wolverhampton WV1

5RX Registered in England: Co. No. 2351679
Directors: Marcus Fisher; Maureen Fisher; David Styles

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© City, University of London 2022 6/1 2022-lpc-civlit-ws05-d1
 DRAFT WITNESS STATEMENT

I, Amelia Vanessa Gordon will say as follows:

1. I am a Couturier Designer of wedding gowns and I trade as Bridal Couture by Amelia from
my premises at Unit 4 Waterloo Road, Chiswick. I trained at St Martin's College of Art and
Design, graduating in 7 After graduation, I worked for 4 years initially as a tailor and then as
an assistant to the Chief Designer at the London Fashion house of Ben de Niro. I have
always known I wanted to specialise in wedding gown design and, through a contact made
at the St Martin's finals show, where I exhibited a wedding dress, I was taken on by Laurent
Vappetti in 2013 to be an assistant designer and seamstress in the wedding division of his
fashion house. In two years, I became the right hand helper to M. Vappetti. Clients were
beginning to ask for me by name as I was effectively designing some of the gowns on my
own and M. Vappetti had increasing confidence in my capabilities.

2. Sadly, M. Vappetti died in 2017 and, as I did not get on at all well with his sister who took
over the business, I decided to branch out on my own from my live/work unit in Chiswick.

3. I very quickly began to get orders for gowns as, in this field, reputations are made by word
of mouth recommendations and I was known for being single minded in ensuring the brides
had every detail of the gown as they wished. My first order was for a big society wedding in
Edinburgh which was featured in Hello! Magazine and from this I received many enquiries
and several firm orders. My favourite fabric is silk and I am constantly looking for suppliers
who can provide the quality of fabric I need. I have used suppliers from abroad but there
are always problems with delivery and it is difficult to monitor the quality when the suppliers
are not in this country.

4. I was therefore extremely pleased when, on attending a Trade Fair in February 2021, I met
Marcus Fisher, the Managing Director of Silk Weaves Limited, who was exhibiting a new silk
weave which seemed to have all the qualities I had been looking for. It was made in the 3
shades I had been trying unsuccessfully to obtain, oyster (a light shade of cream), dawn
white (which was a warm white) and blush white (which had a slight pinkish hue). In
addition, at the Trade Fair, Marcus Fisher assured me that his company had developed a
new way of treating the silk which rendered it crease proof. One of the main problems with
silk is that it creases very badly, so I was delighted to think that the problem had been
solved. I looked at some examples of the fabrics on the stand and liked what I saw.

5. I completed the order form and transferred him £10,125, as required, for material for four
gowns for firm orders from clients. The fabric was very expensive but the gowns retail at
prices of £25,000 upwards so I am prepared in my cash flow for the large outlay on fabric.
The delivery dates were clearly indicated on the order form. By the nature of my business, it
is obvious that there can be no slippage of these dates.

6. The first delivery of silk arrived on time on 9 April 2021 and the balance due on delivery was
paid which was £7,500. I had paid the first 50% earlier (in the agreed tranches of £2,250
and
£5,250). I was away in America attending a wedding convention and my assistant did not
notice that the colour of the fabric was not the colour we had ordered. When I returned from
the USA, I immediately telephoned Marcus Fisher and spoke to his assistant to say that the
colour was not the 'Oyster' I had ordered, but was a shade of magnolia. The assistant said
that as far as she was concerned it was 'Oyster', but she would check with Marcus when he
returned. In the absence of any word from Marcus, I consulted with the client, who was a
little annoyed but, in view of the time, agreed to accept the slightly different colour in
exchange for a reduction of £3,000 on the cost of the gown. In addition, we had difficulty
from the beginning with the fabric as it was very shiny and slippery and extremely difficult to
work with. The threads we used did not seem to hold the silk and we had to duplicate
seams in order to make

2022-lpc-civlit-ws05-d1 7/1 © City, University of London 2022

 sure the fabric fitted the design. This made a lot of extra work for my seamstresses and we
had great difficulty getting the gown finished on time. I estimate that it cost me some 100
hours of additional time of the seamstresses to accommodate the difficult fabric, which at a
rate of £20 per hour for the seamstresses came to £2,000.

7. The second delivery of fabric was by and large satisfactory except that there were a great
number of 'faults' in the weave. I paid the final instalment for the ‘Dawn White’ which meant
I paid £22,500 for that fabric. Usually, with silk we expect a few places where there is a
thickening of the fabric and I always order sufficient fabric to allow for these in the design as
we have to make sure we place the patterns so as to avoid the material with these 'faults'.
However, the design of the gown for the delivery due from Silk Weaves on 9 July required
the fabric to be cut on the bias which in itself needs more fabric at the outset. With a bias
design, it is not possible to place the pattern pieces economically using all the fabric, the
pattern pieces have to be laid out so that every part of the gown is cut on the cross.

8. I wrote to Marcus (letter of 26 July 2021 attached) pointing out that the fabric was
substantially flawed and asking for a refund to compensate me for all the extra time involved
in sorting out the flaws and ensuring the design was not compromised. I received no reply
to my letter. I did not have time to chase it up as I was extremely busy as orders were
coming in fast and I was gearing up for the double wedding for which I had ordered the
'Blush White' silk to be delivered on 13 January 2022. This was for Princess Fahrira of
Jordan who was having a double wedding with her cousin and I was making the gowns for
both brides in different but complementary designs.

9. On 12 January 2022, I received a phone call from Marcus Fisher's assistant to say that they
were running a little behind and the final silk delivery would be a couple of days late. I was
extremely annoyed. On Friday 14 January, there was no sign of the fabric and when I
telephoned Silk Weaves there was a recorded message asking me to call later. I tried to
call Marcus on his mobile but this was switched off. I was frantic by this time as we had two
gowns to make and this was the most prestigious order I had ever had. I was scheduled to
take the dresses out to Jordan for a fitting at the end of May and we would need every
second until then to cut and sew them.

10. I waited until Saturday 16 January and then, with no contact at all from Marcus or anyone
else at Silk Weaves, I flew out to Hong Kong to see whether I could source the silk for the
gowns from another manufacturer. My air ticket at such short notice cost me £1,200. I was
lucky and was able to secure an undertaking for a delivery of the silk I needed in the right
shade by the beginning of March. However, I had to pay £2,000 per metre for the quality I
needed in view of the short delivery time. I had already paid 50% of the cost of the final
order to Silk Weaves (£15,000 for ‘Blush White’). I now also had to pay £40,000 to 'Silk
Merchants of Hong Kong' who were the replacement suppliers so I was an extra £25,000
out of pocket!

11. The gowns were made in time but I had to hire an additional seamstress for a further 200
hours’ work which cost me £4,000. This whole business has made me very upset and has
affected my ability to work efficiently and has detrimentally affected my creative flow with the
designs for the gowns. I have begun suffering from migraine which I attribute directly to the
stress created by the problems with Silk Weaves.

© City, University of London 2022 8/1 2022-lpc-civlit-ws05-d1

12. One of the most upsetting parts of the whole business has been a complaint by a client, for
whom I made the gowns from the first order of silk which was delivered in April 2021, that
OK! Magazine apparently leaked details of the wedding gown before the wedding. There
was a short article about the new silk fabric to be used for the gown and its crease-proof
properties. This information was not given to OK! by any of my employees and I can only
assume that the information was leaked by Marcus Fisher or his employees as it was
publicity for his fabric. It is crucial for my business that I am seen as discreet and that details
of the gowns do not emerge before the wedding day itself. This sort of unauthorised
publicity causes inestimable damage to my business. The client involved was very annoyed
and I suspect that she will have told friends in her circle what has happened.

13. I understand that my solicitor has tried to resolve this dispute without litigation but this has
not been possible.

14. I wish to claim against Marcus Fisher for my losses, both financial and to my business
reputation, and the stress I have been under during this whole sorry affair.

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© City, University of London 2022 10/14 2022-lpc-civlit-ws05-d1
 Bridal Couture by Amelia
Unit 4 Waterloo Road
Chiswick
London
W5 2NK
Tel: 020 8455 7145
Fax: 020 8457 6520
Email: amelia@couture.co.uk

Marcus Fisher
Managing Director
Silk Weaves Limited

By e-mail

26 July 2021

Dear Mr. Fisher,

I have received the second part of my order from your company of the 15 metres of 'Dawn
White' silk delivered on 9 July.

I wish to register a complaint that these bolts of fabric seem to have far more 'faults' in the
fabric than I would normally expect. It has cost us time and money manoeuvering the pattern
cutting and in the make-up stages to eliminate the sections of the material with the faults. I feel
in all fairness I should have a refund on the substantial sum I have paid you for this fabric.
From the total quantity I received (15 metres) at least 1.5 metres are unusable.

I feel that in all the circumstance a 10% refund on the sum of £22,500 I have paid your company
for the ‘Dawn White’ would be reasonable and reflect the quantity of unusable fabric.

I look forward to hearing from you without delay.

Yours truly,

Amelia Gordon

Bridal Couture by Amelia is the trading name of Amelia Gordon

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© City, University of London 2022 12/14 2022-lpc-civlit-ws05-d1
 LEGAL PRACTICE COURSE

Examples of particulars of claim drafting styles:

(1) Contract

1. The Claimant is a company engaged in the business of communication technology in

the sports industry. It manufactures, amongst other things, fabrics which are used for
high performance sports clothes, including the Duo Skin fabric. The Defendant is a
company which designs and manufactures, amongst other things, sports clothes and
footwear.

2. By a contract in writing made between Alex Jones on behalf of the Claimant and
Philip Barlow on behalf of the Defendant on 11/09/2021 (“the Duo Skin contract”), a
copy of which is attached, the Claimant agreed to manufacture, sell and deliver to the
Defendant 7,000 metres of the Duo Skin fabric (“the Fabric”) at a price of £25 per
metre.

3. It was an express term of the Duo Skin contract that:

(1) the Claimant would deliver the Fabric in instalments of 3,000 metres by
28/10/2021, 1,000 metres by 26/11/2021 and the remaining 3,000 metres by
26/02/2022; and

(2) the Defendant would pay for each instalment in full within 14 days of delivery.

4. Pursuant to the Duo Skin contract, the Claimant delivered to the Defendant 3,000
metres of the Fabric on 28/10/2021 (“the First Instalment”).

5. On 28/10/2021, by invoice, the Claimant claimed the price for the First Instalment in
the sum of £75,000, payable within 14 days, namely by 11/11/2021.

6. In breach of the express term pleaded at paragraph 3(2) above, the Defendant has
failed to pay the sum of £75,000, or any part of it, and the sum remains due and
owing to the Claimants.

7. As a result of the matters set out above the Claimant has suffered loss and damage.

2022-lpc-civlit-ws05-d1 13/14 © City, University of London 2022

 LEGAL PRACTICE COURSE

(2) Tort (Negligence)

1. The Claimant is the owner and occupier of premises known as 16 Evelyn Road,
Yeovil, Somerset (“No. 16”). The Defendant is a firm of building contractors who were
at all material times engaged in works of construction, demolition and repair at the
adjoining premises known as 14 Evelyn Road (“No. 14”).

2. The Claimant is a biochemist and maintains a laboratory in a shed in the garden of

No. 16 where he conducts experiments. In May 2022 the Claimant set up apparatus
in the shed in order to conduct an experiment which required a temperature of at least
20 Centigrade and, accordingly, he kept a paraffin burner alight in the shed. The
apparatus was of necessity delicately poised and liable to be unbalanced by
excessive vibration.

3. On 08/04/2022 the Claimant informed Jack Sweet, a director of the Defendant, of the
facts stated in paragraph 2 above, and showed him the apparatus.

4. On 06/05/2022 the Defendant began to use a pneumatic drill in the garden of No. 14
and it was were warned to stop by the Claimant’s wife but continued to use it. The
vibrations produced by the drill caused the apparatus and/or the paraffin burner to
become unbalanced and collapse, which resulted in a fire in the shed.

5. The matters complained of were caused by the negligence of the Defendant, its
employees or agents.

PARTICULARS OF NEGLIGENCE

The Defendant, its employees or agents, was negligent in that it:

(a) used a pneumatic drill when it knew or ought to have known that the vibrations
produced were likely to cause damage to the Claimant’s property;

(b) failed to heed the warning given by the Claimant as to the need to avoid
vibration;

(c) failed to heed the warning given by the Claimant’s wife;

(d) failed to take any or any adequate precautions to prevent vibrations reaching
the Claimant’s shed, by digging a trench or otherwise;

(e) failed to give notice to the Claimant it was going to use a pneumatic drill.

6. Further or alternatively, the Defendant’s use of the pneumatic drill constituted a

nuisance in that it caused physical damage to No 16 by vibrations.

7. As a result of the matters set out above, the Claimant’s shed and its contents were
severely burned, the Claimant’s experiment was ruined and the Claimant has suffered
loss and damage.

© City, University of London 2022 14/14 2022-lpc-civlit-ws05-d1