Defence (Form 4)

Under rule 48 of the Magistrates Court (Civil Division) Rules 1998 (Tas), a person intending to defend an action must file a defence in an approved form within 21 days after service of the claim and serve it on all other parties. A defence may still be filed at any time before default judgment is entered (r 48(2)). Form 4 is the approved form for a defence with no counterclaim; use Form 5 if you also have a claim against the claimant. Pleadings follow the practice, form and content of the Supreme Court Rules 2000 unless the Magistrates Court rules provide otherwise (r 44(1)).

When you need it

• You have been served with a claim (Form 1) in the Magistrates Court of Tasmania and you dispute all or part of it.
• You admit part of the claim but dispute the rest, or dispute the amount.
• You do not have a counterclaim or set-off of your own. If you do, use Form 5 instead (r 50).

1. 1

   Heading

   Copy the court address and action number from the claim.

2. 2

   Parties

   List the claimants as named on the claim and their solicitor, if any. Give the full names and addresses of the defendants (registered office for a company) and your solicitor's details, if you have one.

3. 3

   Particulars of defence

   State which parts of the claim you admit and which you deny, and briefly state your defence. If you admit the claim in full, say so. Use numbered paragraphs that follow the order of the claim.

4. 4

   Sign every page

   The defendant or their solicitor signs and dates each page.

5. 5

   Filed by

   Complete your address for service and contact details. Documents in the case will be served there.

• File the defence at the registry, quoting the action number from the claim, and serve a copy on the claimant and any other party (r 48(1)).
• The court's service fact sheet says the period from 23 December to 7 January does not count towards the 21 days.
• Once a defence is filed, the court's civil disputes page says a minor civil claim ($15,000 or less) goes to a conciliation conference and a civil claim generally to a directions hearing. The first directions hearing is listed at the court closest to where the defendant lives or the cause of action arose (r 30(2)).
• You must attend a conciliation conference you are notified of (r 80(3)). If a party does not attend within 15 minutes, judgment may be entered against them (r 83).

• Be specific. If you deny personal liability because someone else, such as a company, incurred it, plead the facts showing when, where and how (r 44(3)).
• An objection to the Court's jurisdiction must be made by application filed at the same time as the defence (r 49).
• If you want to claim contribution or indemnity from someone else, file a third party claim with the defence (r 52).