Possession proceedings – no rubber stamps

Birmingham has the largest housing stock of any English municipal landlord, each year bringing many claims for possession in the local courts. Each claim starts by lodging a form with the "particulars of claim". Court rules require all particulars of claim to carry a "statement of truth" signed by someone verifying the truth of its content.

The council's practice was to have particulars of claim checked by housing or legal staff, then apply a senior officer's signature by rubber stamp. The senior officer would know nothing about individual cases and would not see the forms or apply the stamp himself.

A district judge decided this did not comply with the rules. The council appealed but the senior designated civil judge dismissed the appeal. He decided the rules required the statement of truth to be made by someone actually verifying the matters contained in the document. That person could "sign" with a rubber stamp of their signature. But as the council was not following this procedure, its cases could not proceed until the rules were complied with.