VPRS 12566 County Court Ordinary Summons Register, Melbourne

Successive County Court Rules have required the registrar of the court to keep a register of all verdicts, orders and judgements of the court. The register is the authoritative record of the court. This series was used to register actions initiated by "Ordinary" summons. The most common actions recorded in it are claims for damages for negligence. It includes some claims involving recovery of debt or goods, but more often these types of claims were initiated by "Special" summons and will be found in VPRS 12567 County Court Special Summons Register, Melbourne. The series commenced in 1973 when the County Court began to register actions initiated by ordinary and special summons in separate registers. It is not known why the court began to do this. Previously, cases initiated by both type of summons were recorded in a single register (refer VPRS 3159 County Court Register 1869-1972). Registration Process: An entry in the register was initiated upon the lodgement of a summons with the court by the solicitor acting on behalf of the plaintiff. Recordings were then made as the case progressed towards trial. Register details include: - names and addresses of the plaintiff and defendant - legal practitioner acting for the plaintiff - nature of the action - amount of the claim - date defence filed; and - order of the Judge. A considerable period of time (sometimes years) could elapse between the initial registration of a case and its completion, upon which the Judges order was added to the original register entry. The date range of the orders in the register is indicated by the series contents date range. Note that register entries are not always complete. One reason was that cases may have been settled before going to trial. Unsystematic recordkeeping practice may also have played a part in some instances, for example, an order may have been recorded on the case file only (the file raised to hold the various process documents relating to each case). Case files are not in Public Record Office Victoria [PROV] custody.