VPRS 5260 County Court Register, Part I, Common Law

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 common law actions. Examples include damages for negligence (motor car collision, master and servant claims), personal injuries, property damage / loss of profit.Registration ProcessAn entry in the register was initiated upon 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 the:- names and addresses of the plaintiff and defendant- number of the plaint- 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.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 custody.This series comprises one of three sequences of registers which, if all were used, collectively constitutes the entire County Court Register for the court in question. The three sequences were known as:County Court Register, Part I, Common LawCounty Court Register, Part II, Equity, andCounty Court Register, Part III, Probate and Administration.