Civil Court Delays, Rising Claims, And The ADR Cure

• County Court claims are at their highest since 2019, driven by a sharp rise in money and damages claims, even as non-money claims dip slightly.​
• Timelines have improved on paper, but trials still take close to a year in many tracks, and delays remain significantly worse than pre-pandemic levels.
• The volume of defended claims is rising while the number of trials edges down, pushing more disputes into settlement, default judgment, or procedural cul-de-sacs.​
• For businesses, this means litigation strategy must start earlier, with serious attention paid to ADR, realistic timetables and cashflow planning around long, uneven processes.
• General counsel who treat civil justice statistics as a management tool, not a curiosity, can price risk more accurately and choose their battles with far greater confidence.

For business owners in Coventry, Nuneaton, and throughout Warwickshire the pressure in the civil courts means little until you either need to bring a claim or a claim is served on you. Suddenly, court statistics begin to matter. Because the more clogged up the civil courts get, the more business owners have to pay for access to justice.

The latest figures for England and Wales show what myself and other solicitors already know: a busier court system, a little faster on some measures, yet still a long way from the predictability businesses crave. Claims are up, timetables remain stretched, and the cost of inching towards trial bites into legal spend long before a judge hears a word of evidence.

This is why engaging in Alternative Dispute Resolution is more crucial than ever.

A system under pressure

In the third quarter of 2025, County Court claims rose by 4% compared with the same period a year earlier, reaching around 479,000 cases, the highest level since 2019. Around 429,000 of those were money and damages claims, accounting for 90% of all new claims.

Non-money claims, including possession and return of goods, have softened slightly, down around 5%, to 50,000. This is primarily due to a decrease in landlord repossession claims.

These statistics reflect what I am seeing in practice. Although optimism has picked up, businesses continue to struggle. If suppliers cannot pay my clients’ invoices, my clients cannot pay theirs. Often, the only option is to bring a legal claim. The same applies to breach of contract. Most businesses around Nuneaton do not have the cash reserves to survive a breach, for example, if the other party fails to perform their obligations.

Timelines, backlogs and the reality of delay

There is good news. The Q3 statistics confirm that median wait times from the issue of claim to trial have continued to fall, reaching their lowest levels in years.

However, this can be interpreted as the system pulling back from the worst peaks. The mean wait time from claim to trial has indeed fallen to 49.1 weeks. But this remains 12 weeks slower than the same period in 2019.

We can take comfort in the fact that we are in the Midlands, not London or the South East. Below is a table showing the different court waiting times between the regions:

Track Type	Coventry (Midlands Median)	London  & South East	National Median
Small Claims (<£10k)	~38–40 weeks	49–54 weeks	39.0 weeks
Fast / Multi-Track	~60–65 weeks	78–84 weeks	60.0 weeks

Costs, defended claims and proportionality

When I look at the trend across Q1, 2, and 3 in 2025, it becomes clear that defendants are filing defences, yet relatively fewer claims now reach a fully contested trial. Most of my cases end in settlement. Others stall in the procedural stage. Meanwhile, default judgments roll in where businesses ignore claims or simply cannot cope with the volume.

For lower and mid-value business disputes, judges expect parties to think hard about whether pursuing a claim all the way to court is worth it, both in terms of financial and personal cost (few things are more stressful than litigation, no matter how skilled your legal team are). Part of my job as a Commercial Litigation Solicitor is to advise my clients on ADR options and the desirability of an early settlement.

Early ADR and settlement as a serious strategy

The latest statistics illustrate the following:

• The chances of a quick trial are slim, so value will often lie in early clarity rather than ultimate victory.
• A well‑timed mediation or settlement meeting can cut a year of delay and the associated run of cost budgets.
• The courts increasingly expect parties to have properly considered ADR, with costs consequences for those who refuse unreasonably.

Using the statistics as a backdrop, I can assist clients with making strategic decisions, such as whether the cost of pressing on is proportionate to the likely recovery. I also analyse whether a late settlement avoids the steepest part of the cost curve and advise my clients accordingly.

Clients often arrive in my office with an optimistic sense of how “quickly” a claim will be resolved. The above statistics provide a solid foundation for managing such expectations. For example, I can demonstrate that in a typical small claim, even with recent improvements, the median time to trial hovers around nine months, sometimes more. For multi-track claims, the median sits beyond a year. This is the middle of the distribution, not the worst case. Complex commercial disputes, or those in congested court centres, can take significantly longer.

Armed with that data, I explain that the objective is not to rush unthinkingly to trial but to move deliberately through disclosure, witness testimony, and expert input while keeping ADR options open.

The final practical impact of a busier, slower system is financial. Litigation ties up working capital. Security for costs, interim payments, orders for payment by instalments and the cost of enforcement all interact with the rhythm of a dispute.

The statistics reveal an interesting nuance. While claims and judgments are rising, applications to enforce judgments have fallen significantly, and the number of warrants issued is at its lowest level since 2021. Some judgment creditors choose not to chase every debt through the courts, either because enforcement looks unrewarding or because they are husbanding resources. Others resolve matters privately once a judgment has been issued.​

Wrapping up

When it comes to commercial disputes, business owners in Coventry, Nuneaton, and throughout Warwickshire are dealing with a busier court system, modestly improving timelines, and stubborn delays. These factors collide with the realities of strained cash flows, strained commercial relationships, and the human cost of drawn-out disputes. The quickest, most cost-effective way for organisations to settle disputes is undoubtedly through ADR.

For many of my clients, the shift happens when they see the figures. Small claims still take around 9 months to reach trial, and fast or multi-track disputes often run well beyond a year, even outside London and the South East. Costs rise with each month of delay, while working capital sits locked in a process that often ends in settlement before the court hears a full argument. Once we set those timelines alongside legal budgets, cashflow forecasts and management time, the case for early ADR and commercially focused negotiation becomes clear.

The latest Civil Justice Statistics Quarterly does not show a system in collapse, but one that rewards parties who plan ahead. Businesses that understand waiting times, the rise in defended claims, the frequency of default judgments and the fall in enforcement applications are better placed to decide when to push on and when to settle. With solid preparation, firm control of costs, and a genuine commitment to mediation and other ADR options, it is still possible to secure strong commercial outcomes in a busy, imperfect, yet responsive civil justice system.

FAQs

Are county court delays getting better or worse for business claims?
Median times to trial have started to improve compared to 2024 for both small claims and fast/multi-track cases. Still, they remain significantly slower than before the pandemic and vary by region.

Why are money claims rising so sharply?
Economic pressure, higher borrowing costs, and tighter credit conditions have pushed more disputes into the courts, with money and damages claims accounting for over 90 per cent of all county court claims in mid-2025.

Does the increase in defended claims mean more trials?
Not necessarily. Defended claims are up, but the number of trials has dipped slightly, suggesting more disputes are resolved through settlement, default judgment or procedural outcomes before a full hearing.​

How should businesses use these statistics in practice?
They can inform decisions about whether to litigate, what timetable to expect, how to structure ADR and settlement windows, and how to provision for legal spend and potential recoveries.

Do the statistics cover the Business and Property Courts as well as ordinary county court work?
Yes. The quarterly publications include data on County Court civil claims and, alongside them, official statistics on the Business and Property Courts for England and Wales, allowing commercial users to view the system as a whole.