Is there a limitation for mental / vulnerable people to apply to tbe courts in civil / appeal cases against an authority to have their case heard or are they exempt of limitations due to their condition

Law and practice Other
1

This issue is regarding mental health and vulnerable people in court in civil cases and court of appeal ( hmcts ) time limits for mental / vulnerablr adults appealing against a decision by a authority .

Case scenario.

The person in question is classed as a vulnerable adult .
Mrs X is classed as vulnerable and suffers ftom ptsd , depression , including symptoms of bi-polarism and is registered with the mental trust .

Scenario 1
On the cusp of the Covid outbreak march 2020 Mrs X was given a mrn ( mandatory reconsideration notice ) decision by the DWP that she was not entitled to housing benefit .
This put her into a further depression.
Mrs x was then made illegally homeless a year later and still liable for rent owed .
She then moved to a hotel and was still not given any housing costs until a community legal practice challenged the Dwp ( department of work / pensions )decision
After challenging the DWP they agreed to pay housing costs for the hotel but to pay for the previous rent housing costs she is still liable for she must appeal to hmcts appeal courts .
However the appeal courts have stated they cannot hear her appeal due to her being out of time ( the limit is 1 year and as the original ( MRN ) is dated March 2020 she is out of time by 18 month .
Mrs X suffers from serious procastination due to vulnerabilty and depression . I am sure i came across there is a exemption from limitations for people with mental health / vulnerabilty in the civil courts . Also as The civil courts including hearing applications of appeal in civil matters against a authority should realise that this covid epedemic is quite historical
Please advise / is she exempt from court limitation / time barred .
Need to know if mental / vulnerable people are excempt or not .How about exceptional circumstances under human rights act.

2nd scenario

Mrs X ( same person ) was given a CPO on a property she owned in 2006.
She was given 20,000 gbp for a 3 bedroom property ( which was a measly amount for the property at the time from the council as sveragd properties werd 45 to 70 k ) .
She was told to apply to the lands tribual and then only given the amount less 10 percent as she wished to challenge amount given.
The council took possesion of property and threw out her paperwork @ the home re the property and she was unable to appeal to lands tribunal due to not having papers .
By law she is still entitled to the 2000 gbp shortfal, plus interest from council which they agreed to pay in 2012 ( but they now have still not paid any money owed ) stating she owed then money 150 GBP from 1998 from fixing chimany but cannot give any proof and mrs x insists shr fixed her own chimeny and she has proof from the builder ( who is now a old gentleman ) .
Is she time barred from lands tribual ?
Has she been mistreated by the council ( due to her vulnerabilty )

Please advise if time limits apply to Mrs X )

2

None of this is my area of law, so don’t treat this as legal advice. In fact, don’t treat anything online as legal advice. You want to find a solicitor who specialises in the relevant areas of law. You could try the Law Society’s Find a Solicitor service – or maybe contact the charity Mind.

But I don’t like to see a question go unanswered, so I’ve done some internet searches to get you started! :slight_smile:

The Limitation Act 1980 does explicitly provide for the automatic extension of its deadlines when someone is “under a disability”, which includes lacking capacity to conduct legal proceedings (see section 28, 33 and 38 in particular). But that Act doesn’t always apply: for instance, in AP v Tameside MBC [2017] EWHC 65 (QB) the High Court decided that there was no equivalent for Human Rights Act 1998 claims.

It seems that:

  1. Scenario 1 involves an appeal against a mandatory reconsideration to the Social Security and Child Support jurisdiction of the First-tier Tribunal (Social Entitlement Chamber). Rule 22 of the Tribunal Procedure (First-Tier Tribunal) (Social Entitlement Chamber) Rules 2008 states that the standard deadline is “within 1 month after the date on which the appellant was sent notice of the result of mandatory reconsideration” and that “the time for bringing the appeal may not be extended under rule 5(3)(a) by more than 12 months”.

  2. Scenario 2 involves an appeal against a First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) decision to the Upper Tribunal (Lands Chamber). Rule 24 of the the Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) (Lands Chamber) Rules 2010 says that the standard deadline is 1 month (after specified procedural events), but that this could be extended, and there doesn’t seem to be any limit to this.

Someone who specialises in the relevant areas of law would know whether there have been any challenges to the deadlines, in particular the 12-month deadline in scenario 1. Interestingly, in RR v SSWP [2019] UKSC 52 the Supreme Court decided that there is nothing unconstitutional about a public authority, court or tribunal disapplying a provision of subordinate legislation which would otherwise result in their acting incompatibly with a Convention right, where this is necessary in order to comply with the Human Rights Act 1998.

The short answer is “I don’t know”!