Private course started over 15 years ago and rewritten twice has been taken over by a university to match two university’s accreditation criteria, within that period. Person claims to have written and designed the course wants a considerable amount of compensation. There is no written evidence of this for the initial course, or the rewrites. She is threatening legal action. Course taken over by the university in 2018. The course was originally written by us back in 2003 and evolved considerably over that period.
Alasdair Taylor's Answer
You should not assume a threat of proceedings is not serious, just because it is made in letter from the potential claimant rather than his or her solicitors. Pre-claim letters can be written – and UK court proceedings can be launched and pursued – without the involvement of solicitors.
That said, all else being equal I would tend to treat a letter from solicitors threatening proceedings as more likely to result in proceedings than a letter from the potential claimant. A letter from solicitors it indicates that the claimant has already invested or plans to invest money in the claim, and for the solicitors the issuing of the claim is just part of the usual process.
I can’t really comment on the substantive issues here without more information.