Pre-Action Steps: Let’s talk about this!

The introduction of the South Australian Uniform Civil Rules 2020 has caused several changes to the steps that would-be litigants must take prior to initiating proceedings in court.

One such change involves the introduction of mandated “Pre-Action Meetings”.

A Pre-Action Meeting (as the name suggests) is a meeting which parties should generally hold prior to commencing an action in court.

The date, time and mode of the meeting should generally be suggested in the Pre-Action Claim (for more information on what a Pre-Action Claim is and how you can use it to set your actions up for success, see our article here).

The meeting can be in-person, by telephone or audio-visual link and must be attended by each party or a person with authority to enter into an agreement settling the dispute and their lawyer (if they have one).

During this meeting, you should:

• Identify the primary issues in dispute.
• Consider how the issues might be resolved without the need to initiate court proceedings.
• Consider if a third party should be joined if proceedings are initiated.
• Consider appointing a mediator/independent chairperson (parties to share cost).

During the meeting parties should complete and sign a Pre-Action Meeting Report which should be created using court Form P4.

Not sure how to conduct a Pre-Action Meeting? Nervous about creating a correct Pre-Action Report? We are here to help!

If you are in need of any assistance with regard to initiating proceedings in Court and holding a Pre-Action Meeting, please contact us on 08 7001 6135 and book an appointment with Rich Stanley and Danial Esmaili.