The Defendant
This is the party being sued by the plaintiff. If sued, the defendant must attend court otherwise a judgment may be granted against the defendant without the Defendant knowing it. A judgment can lead to a warrant of execution and other steps being taken against you. (These are steps which could amongst other things result in you losing your belongings)
The defendant can be a male, a female or an entity such as a company. He she or it has the right to defend the matter.
The matter is defended by putting your version of the events and of the the alleged claim to the court. This must eventually be done at court with your evidence or that of your witnesses being given under oath or, if you or a particular witness objects to taking the oath, under affirmation.
You may also put your version to court before the trial by writing out the defence and delivering it to the opponent and to court. This is called a Plea. The Plea is not evidence and delivering it does not exempt the Defendant from attending court.
Getting your thoughts organized
It is a good idea to prepare well before attending court. To prepare one must consider the claim in general, the details of the claim and which witnesses will assist you to ward off the claim successfully.
You can prepare on the claim detail by considering the checklist contained on the introductory page. Use it to decide which of the following elements you can validly contest:
1 Letter of Demand
2 The summons
3 Service of Summons
4 The Defendant
5 Jurisdiction
6 Type of Claim
7 Amount
8 Costs
In addition to these aspects, you may also institute a counter claim against the Plaintiff. This often occurs in motor vehicle claims where the Plaintiff alleges that the Defendant was negligent and the Defendant alleges that the Plaintiff was negligent. Both parties then claim for the damages to their vehicles and the Court must eventually decide who is liable for what portion of the damage.
Ask your witnesses as early as possible to assist you by diarizing the trial date, attending court and giving evidence.
If you have documents, photo's or other matter relevant to the claim or your defence, take them with to court.
Treat the Commissioner courteously and try to remain calm during the proceedings.
