Client Threatening to Sue: What to Do and What Not to Do

‍‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​​​​​‌​​‌‌‍A threat of "solicitors" or "we're going to court" can arrive as a stroppy email, a formal Letter Before Action, or a full Pre-Action Protocol "Letter of Claim". They're not all the same.

The Pre-Action Protocol for Construction and Engineering Disputes (the C&E Protocol) is the playbook courts expect you to follow before issuing big construction/engineering claims. Knowing how it works stops you from over-reacting or ignoring something you can't afford to ignore.

1. Work out what's actually in front of you

First job: classify the threat, not panic.

• Angry email / informal letter -- lots of heat, maybe the word "solicitor", but no structured claim. This is still pre-pre-action. You can often de-escalate or tidy it up before the formal stuff.

• Letter Before Action / Letter of Claim -- a more formal document that sets out facts, legal basis and what they want. Under the C&E Protocol, this is meant to be clear, factual and proportionate.

• Court papers -- a Claim Form and Particulars of Claim issued in the TCC or County Court. At that point, you're in proceedings and the Protocol phase is either done or skipped.

Your reaction is different for each, but anything that looks like a Protocol Letter of Claim needs treating seriously and on time.

2. The Pre-Action Protocol in a nutshell (Construction & Engineering)

The C&E Protocol applies to most construction and engineering disputes, including professional negligence in that context.

Its aims are to:

• make both sides set out their case early and clearly
• encourage early settlement or ADR (especially mediation)
• narrow the issues if you do end up in court
• keep court time and costs proportionate.

Key steps and timings (typical):

• Letter of Claim -- claimant sends a detailed letter with: summary of facts, key contract/statute provisions relied on, alleged breaches, and what remedy they want (money, declarations, etc.).

• Acknowledgment -- defendant should acknowledge within 14 days.

• Letter of Response (and any Counterclaim) -- usually within 28 days of the Letter of Claim (extendable by agreement), setting out your side, defences, and any counter-attack.

• Pre-Action Meeting -- within about 21 days of the Response (or counterclaim reply), a without-prejudice meeting to try to settle or at least narrow the dispute and consider ADR.

Courts can penalise parties on costs for not complying with the Protocol (or other relevant pre-action conduct), even if they later "win" the case.

3. What to do the moment a serious threat lands

You're aiming for "calmly professional", not defensive or invisible.

Step 1 -- Read it properly

• Identify the project, the issues, and the sum being claimed.
• Check if it labels itself as complying with the Pre-Action Protocol for Construction and Engineering Disputes and if it includes the sort of detail listed above.

Step 2 -- Don't fire back on emotion

• Don't send a long, angry rebuttal or casual admissions.
• A safe holding reply is: "We acknowledge receipt, are taking advice, and will respond in accordance with the Protocol by [date]."

Step 3 -- Get your team lined up

• Pull the contract, correspondence, programmes, payment records, variations, minutes, photos -- whatever touches the issues raised.
• Loop in your insurers if it smells like professional negligence or if your policy requires notification of potential claims.
• Instruct a solicitor with construction/TCC experience -- even if just for reviewing your Response and managing Protocol timings.

Step 4 -- Diary the deadlines

• 14 days to acknowledge, 28 days (or agreed extension) to respond, then 21 days to the Pre-Action Meeting.
• Missing those doesn't automatically kill your defence, but it gives the other side a fair excuse to issue proceedings and complain about your conduct later.

4. How to respond without making it worse

A good Letter of Response is clear, factual and proportionate -- not a wall of rage.

Courts and Protocol guidance suggest you should:

• Say what you admit, what you deny, and what you can't comment on yet (for lack of information).

• Give a brief chronology and your version of key facts.

• Identify the main contractual/legal points you rely on (e.g. scope, payment terms, causation, limitation).

• Attach or at least identify key documents that support your position (contracts, key emails, certificates, payment notices).

• Flag any counterclaim (unpaid fees, defects on their side) you intend to pursue.

At the end, you should indicate whether you're prepared to attend a Pre-Action Meeting and/or mediation. Courts increasingly expect you to say yes to some form of ADR unless you've got a good reason not to.

5. When you still don't agree -- but haven't blown your feet off

If the Protocol dance doesn't settle things:

• You may still go to adjudication (for payment/time disputes) as a quicker, tactical step -- the Protocol doesn't kill your statutory right to adjudicate.

• Or the other side may issue court proceedings. If you've behaved well in the Protocol phase -- timely, clear, open to ADR -- you're in a much better place on costs and credibility.

• For smaller claims (under £10k), you might end up on the small claims track with a lighter version of all this; for bigger stuff, expect the TCC to look quite closely at who took the Protocol seriously.

"Client is threatening legal action" stay-calm checklist

When that message lands, run this instead of panicking:

• Work out what it is: angry email, Letter Before Action/Letter of Claim, or actual court papers.
• If it looks like a Protocol Letter of Claim, note the dates -- 14 days to acknowledge, about 28 days to respond, then a meeting window.
• Send a short holding reply: "We acknowledge receipt, are taking advice, and will respond in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol by [date]."
• Pull the project file: contract, correspondence, programmes, payment and notice trail, variations, minutes, photos.
• Notify insurers if there's any hint of professional negligence or if your policy says to report "circumstances".
• Get a construction-savvy solicitor to help shape your Letter of Response and advise on ADR (mediation) and adjudication options.

If you just do those six things, you've already stopped this from turning into a self-inflicted disaster.

Disclaimer: SiteKiln gives you plain-English information, not legal advice. Talk to a solicitor before making big decisions on live disputes.

What to do next

• Classify the threat: angry email, formal Letter Before Action / Letter of Claim, or actual court papers -- your response is different for each.
• If it looks like a Protocol Letter of Claim, diary the deadlines: 14 days to acknowledge, about 28 days to respond, then a meeting window.
• Send a short holding reply: "We acknowledge receipt, are taking advice, and will respond in accordance with the Pre-Action Protocol by [date]."
• Pull the project file: contract, correspondence, programmes, payment and notice trail, variations, minutes and photos.
• Notify your insurers if there is any hint of professional negligence or if your policy requires you to report potential claims.

Sources

• Pre-Action Protocol for Construction and Engineering Disputes -- https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/protocol/prot_ced
• Civil Procedure Rules -- https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil
• Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 -- https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1996/53/contents

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