Why is a defense necessary in a financial claim?
As part of a report Financial claim The defendant is required to pay the plaintiff sums of money. If The defendant will not file a defense. In a financial claim, the plaintiff may apply to the court with a separate motion and request a judgment in the absence of a defense. This means that the plaintiff will be able to receive all of his demands that were detailed in the statement of claim immediately after the statement of claim is filed.
All the plaintiff will need to prove at this stage is that he delivered the statement of claim to the defendant, and the exact date of delivery. This can be easily proven by Delivery confirmation from Israel Post Or through a delivery confirmation and a delivery affidavit on behalf of the courier who actually made the delivery.
Keep in mind that there are many couriers who do not actually deliver the The statement of claim But they still sign a moral affidavit. The court does not usually summon the emissaries for questioning regarding the surrender, and in the vast majority of cases, the judge is content with accepting the affidavit into the file.
Once the court has given Judgment in the absence of a defense The defendant is in trouble, because 30 days after delivery The verdict For the defendant, the plaintiff may begin proceedings execution against the defendant. In these cases it is important to file Request to annul a judgment Given in the absence of a defense as soon as possible, otherwise the judgment will become final (cannot be canceled or changed). It is highly recommended that applications for cancellation of a judgment be submitted through an experienced attorney who is familiar with the relevant provisions of the law and case law.
Preparing a defense in a financial claim
Preparing a defense in a financial claim alone or with a lawyer
Statement of defense in a financial claim Can be made by yourself Or with the assistance of an experienced lawyer. Of course, it is recommended not to try to defend yourself, especially in the context of financial claims involving large sums. Anyone who is not an experienced lawyer probably would not even know the technical issues necessary for filing a claim. Defense To the court secretary. Preparing a defense in violation of the provisions of the Civil Procedure Regulations can lead to the legal secretary not accepting the defense you have prepared at all, and will require you to amend the wording of the defense to conform to the provisions of the regulations.
It is important to read the statement of claim carefully before preparing a statement of defense.
Before you begin writing a defense in a financial lawsuit, you need to understand exactly what is alleged against you in the lawsuit. Even if you decide to hire a lawyer to prepare a defense, it is recommended that you also read the lawsuit in its entirety, so that you can provide the lawyer with important details for preparing your defense. You should take into account that the lawyer can assist you with the legal arguments, but as long as you do not provide him with relevant factual details, the defense may be incomplete, because the lawyer was not involved in the events with the plaintiff and does not know what exactly happened.
Collecting relevant documents for the purpose of preparing a defense in a financial claim
In claims for amounts exceeding 75,000 shekels (claims in the regular court system), it is not mandatory to attach all the evidence on which you intend to rely to the defense, but you do need to attach the essential documents on which you intend to base your defense. You will need to submit all the evidence at a later stage – the submission stage. Affidavit of first witness.
On the other hand, in monetary claims up to 75 thousand shekels (Claims in a speedy trial or small claims) it is mandatory to attach to the defense all the documents and evidence you have, and that you want to rely on in conducting your defense.
Please note – these subtleties, which are usually unknown to those who are not lawyers involved in litigation, may be critical and may even decide the case against you. If you do not submit all your evidence in the relevant procedure and at the relevant time, the court may not allow you to Add evidence In the future, and even if the court allows it, it will likely charge you legal costs.
If you are not allowed to add evidence, you may have no choice but to submit an application. To amend the entire defenseAmending a defense in a financial claim is not self-evident, and in these cases the court may not accept the request, but even if it accepts the request, it is very likely that it will charge you legal costs.
Deadlines for filing a defense in a financial claim
The type of proceeding is relevant to deciding when exactly to file a defense in a financial claim. Generally, the higher the amount of the claim, the longer the defendant has to file his defense.
As part of an application for approval Class action lawsuit The respondent may submit a response within 90 days of receiving the request for approval.
As part of a claim for an amount exceeding 75 thousand shekels, the defendant may submit Defense within 60 days From the date of receipt of the claim.
In a claim for an amount of up to 75,000 shekels, the defendant may file a defense within 45 days from the date of receipt of the claim.
In a small claim, the defendant may file a defense within 30 days of receiving the claim.
What is important to actually write as part of a defense in a financial claim?
Beyond the technical rules according to which a defense must be prepared in a financial claim, the essence of the plaintiff's claims should be addressed. It is very important to provide a counter-version and not leave the plaintiff's claims unanswered. It is important to address all sections of the claim and deny or confirm them, detailing the claim relevant to that section. It is also important to raise Preliminary arguments Relevance.
Important to know – If you did not address any section in the statement of claim, the plaintiff will be entitled to claim that the claim in that section was not denied and is therefore no longer in dispute, and therefore the plaintiff's version with respect to that section must be accepted. Always be sure to consult with Financial lawyer In order to properly prepare a defense.
This can be illustrated using the following examples.
One example: Let's say the statement of claim has fifty paragraphs. You must go through each paragraph and deny the plaintiff's claims or present an alternative version as follows: The statement in paragraph 1 of the statement of claim is denied. The event described in the paragraph did not occur. The statement in paragraph 2 of the statement of claim is denied, the plaintiff did not give the defendant money.
If several sections refer to the same event or issue, several sections may be denied together, as follows: The provisions of sections 1 – 15 of the statement of claim are denied. The event detailed in these sections did not occur.
Second example: Let's assume that the statement of claim has 30 sections and you have denied sections 1 - 25, 27 - 30. You have not denied section 26 of the statement of claim. In such a situation, the court may not accept an alternative version from you at a later stage, with respect to what is written in that section.
Amendment of a statement of defense in a financial claim
Whether you like it or not, it will sometimes become clear during the process that you made a mistake in the defense of a financial claim filed on your behalf. The more serious the mistake, the more it may affect your chances of defense, and the more you will want to correct the mistake.
As a general rule, the earlier the procedure, the more inclined the court will be to grant the request. Amendment of defense In a financial claim. And vice versa – the more advanced the procedure is, the more the court will tend not to accept the request to amend the statement of defense.
The court will usually also examine the nature of the amendment – what are the new defense claims or what is the new evidence, and whether these are relevant amendments that may simplify or complicate the proceedings. If these are arguments or documents that may complicate the proceedings and will not contribute to the investigation of the truth, then the court will usually not allow the amendment of the defense.
In conclusion
A defense in a financial claim can be filed alone, but in the vast majority of cases, this would not be wise on the part of the defendant, especially in claims involving large sums.
If a defense is not filed in a monetary claim, the plaintiff may receive a default judgment, and the defendant will be forced to deal with a motion to set aside the judgment. This is not a simple motion and requires familiarity with the relevant legislation and case law.
Preparing a defense in a financial lawsuit requires active participation from the defendant, even if he has hired an attorney to represent him. It is highly recommended that the defendant read the entire lawsuit so that he can provide his attorney with essential details or documents that may be relevant to preparing his defense. Without this information, the defense may be very incomplete.
It is very important to address all the clauses of the defense and deny them or present an alternative version. A clause that is not denied may be considered a clause that is no longer disputed by the defendant, meaning that the plaintiff's claim with respect to that clause may be accepted.
