Defence - filing party legally represented (Form 7A)

A defendant served with a statement of claim has 28 days after service to file a defence, unless the court sets another time (Uniform Civil Procedure Rules 2005 (NSW) r 14.3). Form 7A is the approved defence where the defendant has a solicitor; Form 7B is the version for a defendant acting in person. The defence responds to each allegation in the statement of claim. Any allegation of fact that is not denied or not admitted is taken to be admitted (r 14.26), so the defence matters as much for what it leaves out as for what it says. In the Supreme and District Courts the defence must generally be verified by affidavit (r 14.23).

When you need it

• Your client has been served with a statement of claim in the Supreme, District or Local Court of NSW and disputes all or part of it.
• You are filing a defence to a cross-claim (the Filed in relation to box identifies which claim is answered).
• Use Form 7B instead if the defendant is not legally represented.

1. 1

   Court details and title

   Copy the court, division, list, registry, case number and party names exactly from the statement of claim.

2. 2

   Filing details

   Name the defendant filing the defence and, if eFiling, the claim it responds to (for example the plaintiff's claim or a numbered cross-claim), plus the solicitor's details.

3. 3

   Pleadings and particulars

   Respond to the statement of claim in consecutively numbered paragraphs (r 14.6). For each allegation, admit, deny or do not admit it. Plead material facts, not evidence, and be as brief as the case allows (rr 14.7, 14.8). Allegations not traversed are taken as admitted (r 14.26), although an allegation of damage or an amount of damages is taken as traversed unless specifically admitted (r 14.26(3)).

4. 4

   Solicitor's certificate

   Choose one statement: either the defence does not need a certificate under clause 4 of Schedule 2 to the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2014, or the solicitor certifies that the defence to a damages claim has reasonable prospects of success. Sign and date.

5. 5

   Affidavit verifying

   In the Supreme and District Courts the deponent swears or affirms that the facts alleged in the defence are believed true, the facts denied are believed untrue, and, after reasonable inquiry, they do not know whether the facts not admitted are true (r 14.23(3)). Omit this section in Local Court proceedings. Verification also does not apply to claims for defamation, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, trespass to the person, death or personal injury unless the court orders it (r 14.22).

6. 6

   Further details about the filing party

   Complete the defendant's address and the solicitor's details, including an electronic service address if used. Skip this page if the information has already been given to the court in the proceedings.

• File within 28 days after service of the statement of claim, or within any other time the court directs (r 14.3(1)). The Online Registry lists the defence (UCPR 7A/7B) as a form that can be filed online once you open the existing case.
• Serve the filed defence on each other active party as soon as practicable (r 10.1(1)). In the Local Court a defence is served by a court officer, except that a defence filed through the Online Registry must be served by the party who filed it (r 10.1(2) and (3)).
• If no defence is filed in time, the defendant is in default and the plaintiff can apply for default judgment. A defence filed late but before default judgment is given takes the defendant out of default (r 16.2).
• In the Supreme and District Courts, file the affidavit verifying with the defence. Failing to file a required verifying affidavit also puts the defendant in default (r 16.2(1)(b)).

• Deal with every paragraph of the statement of claim. Silence on an allegation of fact is treated as an admission (r 14.26).
• Do not include the affidavit verifying in a Local Court defence; the form itself says so.
• If the plaintiff later files an amended statement of claim, the Online Registry notes a defence to the amended claim must be filed within 14 days of being served with it.