Test of Reasonableness
Law is not read and applied per se. We are human being and face each and every day, trials and tribulations and come across traps and snare as we go about or daily activities. When you become involved with or take part in legal actions, the courts system will carry out evaluations of the evidence and apply a test of reasonableness at all times.
What is Reasonableness?
The court will look at the events and consider what a reasonable person would do, act and say when faced with the particular set of circumstances (which it has heard from the parties in court).
If the matters have been considered by the court fully and that court found against you and awarded your opponent all his damages and costs, then on balance you can glean you have judged by the court as being unreasonable, as well as wrong.
If on the other hand you have been judges as liable yet the court saw fit to significantly reduce your opponents claim and deny your opponant their costs then the court has strongly come down on your side in the test of reasonableness and your opponent (although legally right) has been punished for being unreasonable.
In the event that a action has been raised against you and you are very willing to talk about the issues, meet to settle the dispute, propose ADR, make offer of settlement and generally be reasonable in correspondence, the court will acknowledges your efforts as being reasonable and if your opponent refuses to meet, engage and discuss the matters reasonably and acts in favour of contentious litigations then the court will admonish them with a exemplary cost orders. So even if your opponent is completely in the right and has refused to be reasonable it can cost them dearly as they will fail the test whether right or wrong.
When deliberating on the issue (contained in any court action) the court and particular the judge is allowed at all times to make a finding of fact on the evidence he has heard. When discussing the “cooling off” period (let’s say you are out of time by a small amount), if the reason for the lateness was that you were ill or distracted and as a result your cognitive reasoning was impaired then -of course- the court will apply the test of reasonableness and the action you face might fail.
In many cases you might arrive home and you mother is ill, your child is sick or you are hospitalise and as a result of the problems you face you will be distracted and impaired. Taking matter to the nth degree you could have died and have failed in cancel within the “cooling off” period. In that event, can you possible see a court finding you in breach of the “cooling off” period and contractually binding your heirs and successors to the contract? The clear answer which ring out is no! It therefore follows that a test of reasonableness always applies in any regulation.
In modern society companies and firms churn out letters on pre printed paper and those letters ignore the idiosyncrasies of particular issues in actions. They are in short harsh, evasive, ignorant and un-complimentary to the organisations which constantly send them out.
In short it’s bulling!- If those letters are meet with kindness, gentleness and reasonableness and when seen and presented to a court (in the course of proceeding) the judge will form a view of your opponent as oppressive, curt and un-consolatory which puts them at a disadvantage and on the back foot from the start.
If you are retired, infirm and un-alert and face a young trendy and deliberate opponent, then the court will take into consideration the misbalance of the parties and hold your opponent to account and for his actions by applying the test of reasonableness.
In all legal matters and even when face with nasty letters, keep calm and tactically gain a huge advantage by applying clarity, meaning, reasonableness and kindness, as (in reality) it will pay huge benefits in the end.
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk