A defense letter according to new regulations – how do you write a defense letter correctly?

Preparation of a defense with the assistance of attorney Eddie Blitstein

Attorney Eddie Blitstein has many years of experience representing defendants in highly complex civil-commercial lawsuits, including Class Actions In which the defendants were sued for tens and even hundreds of millions of shekels.

Attorney Eddie Blitstein has many proven successes in representing defendants in the Magistrate's Courts, District Courts, and even the Supreme Court.

As much as you need legal assistance Professional and high quality, including preparing a defense, as part of a claim that exceeds 100,000 shekels, you are invited to contact attorney Eddie Blitstein, who will also be able to assist you.

What is a defense?

A defense is a document filed in response to a lawsuit, in which the defendant details all of the defense claims in relation to the plaintiff's claims. Failure to file a defense at all or on time will lead to a judgment being entered against the defendant, in which case the defendant will have to file a motion to quash a judgment rendered in the absence of a defense, or act in accordance with the provisions of the judgment. (Which may cost the defendant dearly. Also filing Request to annul a judgment may involve a lot of money for the defendant).

It is very important to prepare a defense with the assistance of Experienced lawyer, especially when it comes to claims involving significant sums of money or matters of great value (for example Disputes over real estate ownership, inheritance disputes, disputes regarding An expensive car that has been in an accident, etc.), but it is important to know that you submitted Defense without a lawyer It is also possible.

One of the best pieces of advice I can give you/therefore is not to skimp at this stage, and at the very least consult with a lawyer so that you don't prepare the defense yourself and end up causing yourself more harm than good. The damage you cause yourself will be very difficult to repair (and sometimes even impossible), and will cost you much more money than if you had handled the claim properly in the first place.

In the vast majority of lawsuits currently filed in the courts, filing a defense must be done in accordance with לתקנות סדר הדין האזרחי, תשע"ט – 2018 (The new regulations). A statement of defense according to the new regulations is a key condition for its acceptance by the court secretariat (the legal secretary may not accept a statement of claims that is not drafted in accordance with the new regulations).

How to write a defense according to the new regulations is a much more complex question, and you will discover the answer to it if you read the article carefully to the end. In addition, you will discover in this article when you should submit Statement of defense in a financial claim or civil (Example of a defense letter).

Attorney Eddie Blitstein has been representing many plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of legal issues for over a decade, in the Magistrate's, District and Supreme Courts. If you need professional legal assistance, you are welcome to contact our office.

How do you write a defense in small claims?

The small claims process is intended primarily for people who are not lawyers and are not expected to know all the legislation or case law. What is expected of you is to address the plaintiff's claims, present your position, and attach relevant documents.

The Ministry of Justice website details what to write and how to file a defense for a small claims case. To understand how to write a defense in small claims, you are also invited to Download a sample defense in a small claim (Click on the links to access the relevant information).

In general, there is no strict legal procedure in small claims court, and the defense can be drafted in any way you see fit, even handwritten. The most important thing to be careful about is describing the relevant facts, mentioning witnesses who can assist you, and attaching documents that can support your claims.

How do you write a defense to a magistrate's court or district court?

In order to understand how to write A statement of defense to a magistrate or district court או מתי מגישים כתב הגנה, חייבים להכיר את תקנות סדר הדין האזרחי, תשע"ט – 2018. בעניין המועדים להגשת כתב הגנה נקבע בתקנה 9(ב) כך:

The defense shall be filed within sixty days from the date the statement of claim is served on the defendant, and in a claim involving medical negligence, the defense shall be filed within 120 days from the date the statement of claim is served on the defendant; the court may extend the aforementioned deadlines if it is convinced that there are grounds justifying this.

כלומר, בעניינים שאינם רלוונטיים לרשלנות רפואית, כתב ההגנה (בתביעה על סכום העולה על 75 אלף ש"ח) Will be filed with the court within 60 days From the date the statement of claim is presented to the defendant.

Regulations 9(c) and 9(d) specify the parts into which the defense must be divided and the length of each part (deviation from these instructions may lead to the defense not being accepted into the court file by the legal secretary, so it is important to know how to write a defense correctly):

(c) A statement of claim and a statement of defense shall include three parts in the order detailed below:

(1) Title;

(2) Summary of the allegations;

(3) Details of the allegations.

(d) The second part of the statement of claim shall not exceed two pages and the third part shall not exceed nine pages if filed with a Magistrate's Court, and three and twelve pages respectively if filed with a District Court; However, in a claim for financial relief in a district court in an amount exceeding two and a half million new shekels and in a claim for compensation for bodily injury and a claim based on the Compensation for Road Accident Victims Law filed in the district court, the second part of the statement of claims shall not exceed five pages and the third part shall not exceed twenty-five pages.

That is, from a formal point of view, the defense is divided into three parts, with the second part not exceeding two pages and the third part not exceeding 9 pages if the defense is filed with the Magistrate's Court or 12 pages if the defense is filed with the District Court (except in claims relevant to personal injury or claims for compensation for victims of traffic accidents).

What is written in each section of a defense?

In this case too, we don't have to guess because the Civil Procedure Regulations specify this in Regulations 12-15:

title

12. A defense will include in its first part only these details and in the order detailed below:

(1) The judicial instance to which the statement of claim was filed, as well as the court case number;

(2) The name of the plaintiff and his lawyer and their details as they appear in the statement of claim and the name of the defendant and his identity number;

(3) The name of the defendant's attorney if he is represented, including his license number;

(4) Address and contact details of the defendant and his lawyer;

(5) If the defendant is legally incompetent or a minor, as defined in the Legal Capacity and Guardianship Law – an indication of this fact, or a corporation – an indication of this fact and the manner of its incorporation;

(6) (deleted)

(7) The deadline for filing the defense under Regulation 30.

Summary of the claims in the defense

13. In the second part of the statement of defense, the litigant will detail only these matters and in the order detailed below:

(1) Preliminary arguments;

(2) A summary of the defense arguments, which will be listed in the order of the grounds of the lawsuit;

(3) Arguments regarding the relief sought.

The third part of the statement of claims

14. (a) The third part of the statement of claims will include the details of the facts that serve as the basis for the statement of claims and any additional information, the purpose of which is to assist in clarifying the dispute and focusing on the differences between the parties.

(b) The defendant will be considered to have admitted all the facts contained in the statement of claim, except for those that he explicitly and in detail denied in the third part of the statement of defense, however, the amount of damages will be considered disputed unless the defendant has explicitly admitted it.

Appendices to the Statement of Claims

15. (a) Only the following documents shall be attached to the statement of claims and shall be appendices to the statement of claims:

(1) A copy of a material document and any other document used as a basis for the claim in the statement of claims; if the document is not in his possession, it shall be indicated by whom or where it is located, to the best of the party's knowledge;

(2) An opinion of a medical expert that the litigant intends to rely on during the trial.

(3) In a claim for compensation for personal injury, the plaintiff shall attach to the claim a waiver of medical confidentiality, prepared according to the wording of Form 1 in the First Appendix.

(b) Notwithstanding the provisions of subregulation (a), a party may attach to the pleadings an opinion of an expert who is not in a medical matter.

Due dateTheFile a defense in a small claims case

סוגיית זו מוסדרת בתקנות שיפוט בתביעות קטנות (סדרי דין), תשל"ז-1976. תקנה 4(ב) קובעת כך:

(b) In a summons, the defendant will be invited to file a defense within 30 days of the date of service of the summons, and to appear in court on the date specified in the summons – if he has filed a defense as stated.

This means that if a small claim is filed against you, you must defend yourself within 30 days from the date of service of the summons (which comes with the lawsuit).

Due dateSubmission A statement of defense as part of a lawsuit in a speedy trial

תקנה 80(א) לתקנות סדר הדין האזרחי, תשע"ט – 2018 קובעת כך:

80. (a) A defense in the expedited hearing track shall be filed within forty-five days from the date the statement of claim is served on the defendant.

That is, the deadline for filing a defense in a lawsuit in a speedy trial (fast hearing) is within 45 days from the date of receipt of the statement of claim by the defendant.

Due dateהFiling a defense as part of a lawsuit in a regular court proceeding

A lawsuit in ordinary court is usually Civil lawsuit or Financial claim המוגשת על סכום העולה על 75 אלף ש"ח. תביעה בסדר דין רגיל ניתן להגיש גם לבית משפט השלום (אם התביעה היא עד סך של 2.5 מיליון שקלים) וגם לבית המשפט המחוזי (אם התביעה עולה על סך 2.5 מיליון שקלים).

התגוננות במסגרת תביעה בסדר דין רגיל מוסדרת בתקנה 9(ב) לתקנות סדר הדין האזרחי, תשע"ט – 2018, אשר קובעת כך:

(b) A statement of defense shall be filed within sixty days from the date of service of the statement of claim on the defendant, and in a claim concerning medical negligence, the statement of defense shall be filed within 120 days from the date of service of the statement of claim on the defendant; the court may extend the aforementioned deadlines if it is satisfied that there are grounds justifying this.

Due dateהFiling a defense in a lawsuit for a fixed amount

A claim for a fixed amount is a unique procedure in which the claim is submitted directly to the bailiff. That is, initially the plaintiff and defendant do not come to court at all, but proceed through the bailiff's office.

In this case, the defendant does not automatically have the right to defend himself. Instead of filing a defense, an objection must be filed within 60 days (note – this period of time is due to the coronavirus pandemic. Normally, this is a period of 30 days).

This matter is regulated in Section 81A1(d) of the Enforcement Law, which states as follows:

(1) The defendant may file an objection to the request for enforcement, including an objection on the grounds that the conditions set forth in subsection (a) were not met in the claim, Within 60 days from the date of the warning According to the provisions of subsection (e); the objection shall be accompanied by an affidavit verifying the facts underlying it, as well as any document supporting the objection;

(2) If an objection is filed, the registrar of execution will delay the execution of the application and forward the claim and objection to the court; for the purposes of the court hearing, the objection will be deemed to be a request for permission to defend in summary proceedings according to the procedural regulations.

Due dateהFiling a defense brief as part of a class action lawsuit

A class action lawsuit does not begin with the filing of a Claim But by submitting an application for approval Class action lawsuit. מסיבה זו המשיב בהליך הייצוגי צריך להגיש תשובה על בקשה לאישור תביעה ייצוגית. את התשובה על הבקשה לאישור תביעה ייצוגית על המשיב להגיש תוך 90 ימים. עניין זה קבוע בתקנה 2(ג) לתקנות תובענות ייצוגיות. תש"ע – 2010:

The respondent may respond to the request within Ninety days from the date it was filed with him or within another time period set by the court; in his response, he shall detail his arguments, including references, and shall attach to it an affidavit to verify the facts that serve as the basis for the response; an affidavit that was not attached to the response when it was submitted shall not be attached to it except with the permission of the court.

In class action proceedings it is very important to be represented by Class Action Lawyer An experienced attorney who will prepare an appropriate defense strategy, otherwise the consequences for the defendant business could be devastating.

Filing a defense during recess

Almost no one bothers to defend themselves during the court recess. The reason for this is that the recess period is not counted in the period of days at the end of which a defense must be filed. This matter is regulated by Regulation 179(b) of the Civil Procedure Regulations, which states as follows:

(b) A period of recess of the court shall not be included in the number of days prescribed in these regulations or prescribed by the court, unless the court orders otherwise.

That is, unless the court determines otherwise, the grace period is not counted in the number of days for filing a defense.

What happens if a defense is not filed on time?

A defendant who fails to fulfill his obligation to file a defense on time risks the plaintiff filing a motion for summary judgment. Judgment in the absence of a defense, and the court will be entitled to give a judgment based on what is stated in the statement of claim.

In order to avoid giving verdict In the absence of a defense, a defendant who failed to defend himself on time must file a request for an extension to file his defense. When lawyers representing the parties are involved in the proceedings, such a request is submitted to the court by agreement, and if there is no agreement, then the defendant must specify the reasons why, in his opinion, he should be allowed additional time to file his defense, and specify why the filing was not made on time.

There are cases in which filing a defense is not necessary because the parties reached an agreement after filing the lawsuit. In these cases, the parties submit a notice to the court of reaching a settlement and request that the lawsuit be dismissed/struck out without an order for costs and/or that the agreements between them be given effect to by a judgment.

As promised, here it is Example of a defense brief for a magistrate's court.

In conclusion

A defense is one of the most important pleadings for the defendant, because failure to file it on time may lead to the filing of a Request for a default judgmentIf a verdict is reached in the absence of a defense, the defendant's situation becomes much more complex (but certainly not without any hope).

In different proceedings, the deadline for filing a defense may be different (for example: the deadline in a regular court order for filing a defense is within 60 days from the date of receipt of the statement of claim. In contrast, in an expedited hearing, the deadline for filing a defense is only 45 days from the date of receipt of the statement of claim).

חשוב מאוד להקפיד על הכנת כתב הגנה בהתאם לתקנות סדר הדין האזרחי, תשע"ט – 2018, אחרת המזכיר המשפטי עשוי שלא לקבל את כתב ההגנה לתיק בית המשפט.

Generally, it is not mandatory to attach all of the defendant's evidence to the defense. The deadline for submitting the defendant's evidence is usually the date of filing. Affidavit of first witness On his behalf.

It is very important to address the plaintiff's claims in the defense and deny them or provide some explanation/reference for them. A claim in the lawsuit that has not been denied by the defendant is considered correct and is no longer disputed between the parties.

In order to properly prepare or submit a defense, it is highly recommended to hire the services of Claims lawyer Experienced. You are welcome to contact us in these matters with Attorney Eddie Blitstein.

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Filing a Defense