N11 Defence Form

Whenever a claim is served on a Defendant, he has two options. He can either admit the claim and pay the compensation which the Claimant is demanding (or comply with whatever other remedy is sought); or he can defend the claim. It is also possible to admit part of the claim, but defend another part. For example, in a claim that a defendant has sold two faulty products, he may accept that one of the products is faulty but dispute that there is a problem with the second product.

The Defendant cannot just ignore the claim, and if he does, the Claimant will be entitled to ask the court for a Judgment in Default.

The N11 Defence Form is a general purpose form which should be used to file a defence with the court, although in some types of case (such as possession claims) there is a specific defence form which should be used. The Defendant has 14 days from the service of particulars of claim on him to file a defence, although this increases to 28 days in cases where the Defendant has filed an acknowledgement of service.