Defence

A defence is the formal document filed by a defendant in response to the particulars of claim, setting out which allegations are admitted, denied, or neither admitted nor denied, and the defendant's own version of events. Under CPR Part 15, the defence must be filed within 14 days of service of the particulars of claim (or 28 days if an acknowledgement of service was filed).

In practice

The defence must deal specifically with each allegation: a bare denial is insufficient. Any allegation not dealt with is taken as admitted under CPR 16.5. The defence must be verified by a statement of truth. A defendant who fails to file a defence in time is at risk of default judgement. The defence may include a counterclaim against the claimant under CPR Part 20.