On 17 July 2020 the Master of the Rolls issued the new Practice Direction 55C (PD55C) which will come into force on 23 August 2020 and end on 28 March 2021 (the ‘interim period’).
PD55C in essence requires parties to file and serve a notice of reactivation for all stayed claims in order to “reactivate” them. PD55C will regulate the influx of possession claims following the upcoming lift of the stay on all possession claims under PD51Z on 23 August 2020.
PD55C will deal with both ‘stayed claims’ (brought on or before 22 August 2020) and ‘new claims’ (brought after 22 August 2020). It must however be noted that the requirement for a reactivation notice does not apply for claims brought on or after 3 August 2020.
A notice of reactivation must state firstly whether the parties wish the case to be listed, relisted, heard, or referred to a judge under rule 55.15.
Secondly, it must set out what knowledge that party has as to the effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the defendant and their dependants (except for proceedings relating to an appeal).
Though there are no set layouts for a reactivation notice, from the comprehensive language within PD55C which clearly sets out what must be included in the notice, it appears that no application notice would be required when filing and serving a reactivation notice.
The reactivation notice must however be filed irrespective of whether the claim had already been listed for a trial date after 23 August 2020 or had been listed for a trial prior to 27 March 2020. Any hearing listed for stayed claims without a reactivation notice will be vacated.
If a reactivation notice is not served 42 days prior to a pre-PD55C listed hearing date the claim will automatically be stayed.
Similarly, if by 4.00 pm on 29 January 2021, no reactivation notice has been filed and served in relation to a stayed claim, the claim will be automatically stayed.
It will be relieving to know that an automatic stay is not a sanction for breach and the relief from sanctions under rule 3.9 will not apply when making an application to lift the stay.
For stayed claims where case management directions were made before 23 August 2020, paragraph 5.1 helpfully outlines what must be included along with the reactivation notice, namely: