Process description

1. Initial meeting

We go through the case together and agree on how to approach it.

2. Assignment confirmation

We provide you with an assignment confirmation stating the agreed terms for completing the assignment.

3. Opening letter

We prepare a draft opening letter to the opposing party, which you will read through and approve in advance. We make any adjustments based on your feedback. Once you have approved the content, we send the letter to the opposing party on your behalf. We usually set a deadline of 1-2 weeks for a reply.

4. Response

As soon as we receive a response from the opposing party, we forward it to you with our comments. If we do not receive a response from the opposing party within the set deadline, we follow up until we get a clarification. We discuss the response with you and agree on what to do next.

5. Negotiations

It is rare for the response to contain an immediate acceptance from the opposing party. As a rule, it becomes necessary to negotiate a solution with the opposing party. This can take place both orally and in writing. In general, the aim is to avoid ending up in court, because it is time- and resource-consuming, and because the outcome can be difficult to predict. We often have greater influence on the outcome of the case through out-of-court negotiations directly with the opposing party. We maintain an ongoing dialogue with you about what you are willing to accept.

6. Notice of legal action

If we make no headway with the opposing party, in the sense that the opposing party is not willing to agree to any solution that is acceptable to you, the next step is a notice of legal action (warning of proceedings). As before, we prepare a specific draft that you will read through and approve in advance. Where you are the one with a claim, we send the notice of legal action. If someone has made a claim against you that you dispute, it is the other party that sends the notice of legal action. The purpose of the notice of legal action is to make the opposing party aware that legal action will be taken if it does not accept the claim. Here, too, a deadline is set, with a request that the other party take a formal position on the claim and the basis for the claim within the set deadline.

7. Conciliation complaint or writ of summons

If the opposing party still rejects the claim, the next step in the case is a complaint to the Conciliation Board or a writ of summons to the District Court, depending on the type of case and the amount in dispute. The case is then brought by the party that sent the notice of legal action, i.e. the party asserting a claim. If that is you, we assess where the case belongs (the Conciliation Board or the District Court) and bring the case there. As before, you will read through and approve the complaint or writ of summons before it is sent. Some types of cases belong before a specific dispute resolution board or special body, such as the Rent Disputes Tribunal (Husleietvistutvalget). In that case, the case is brought there, and not to the Conciliation Board or the District Court.

8. Defence reply

After the complaint or writ of summons has been filed, the respondent/defendant has the opportunity to submit a defence reply. The deadline for the reply is normally set at three weeks. In the reply, the respondent/defendant must explain its position on the claim from the complainant/claimant, whether it accepts or rejects it, and if so why.

9. Further case preparation

After the reply has been submitted, there may be a need to submit further comments in the case. For example, the reply may prompt further remarks from the complainant/claimant. Both parties therefore have the opportunity to submit additional comments to the Conciliation Board or the District Court through so-called written pleadings. This is called case preparation. When the case preparation is complete, the parties meet before the Conciliation Board or the District Court to present their views on the case (unless the case is suitable for written proceedings and it is decided that it will be decided in writing, without a court hearing).

10. Court hearing

The Conciliation Board hears the case in a meeting of three lay judges. As the name suggests, the Conciliation Board tries to mediate between the parties with a view to reaching a settlement. However, the Conciliation Board can also pass judgment if the parties consent to it. In some cases, the Conciliation Board can pass judgment even if the parties do not consent. If the case is to be heard by the District Court, this usually takes place in a so-called main hearing (or final hearing in small claims cases). In some cases, the court may decide that the case should instead be dealt with in writing, if it is suitable for that.

11. Court-linked mediation

As an alternative to an ordinary main hearing or final hearing before the District Court, the parties may agree to meet for court-linked mediation. Court-linked mediation means that the parties themselves find a solution to the conflict with the help of a mediator. The mediator is usually a judge at the court hearing the case, but can also be a lawyer or another authorised mediator. The purpose of court-linked mediation is to get the parties to agree on a solution they can live with. This usually means that the parties must be prepared to compromise compared to their original position. Mediation is quicker, simpler and usually cheaper for the parties than ordinary court proceedings.

12. Settlement

During the process, the parties may agree on a solution and settle the case. This can happen at any stage of the case, either before it has been brought before the Conciliation Board or the District Court, or after. If it happens after, the case is dismissed as settled, and no judgment is passed in the case. The settlement and the dismissal decision often also cover the legal costs, so that the parties agree to bear their own legal costs. The settlement can be made as an out-of-court settlement without the effect of a final judgment, or as a court settlement with the effect of a final judgment.

13. Judgment

If the parties do not agree on a solution even after the case has been brought before the Conciliation Board or the District Court, the Conciliation Board or the District Court may pass judgment. The judgment will be based on the parties' claims and evidence. The party that loses the case will normally be ordered to pay the other party's legal costs.

14. Appeal

The party that loses the case before the District Court may appeal the judgment to the Court of Appeal. If it is the Conciliation Board that has passed judgment and you disagree with it, the case may be brought before the District Court for review (not through an appeal, however, but through a writ of summons).