“63.27
(1)
A claim started in or transferred to the Intellectual Property Enterprise
Court will be allocated to the small claims track if – (a)
rule 63.13, but not rule 63.2, applies to the claim; (b)
the value of the claim is not more than £10,000; (c)
it is stated in the particulars of claim that the claimant wishes the claim to be allocated to the small claims track; and (d)
no objection to the claim being allocated to the small claims track is raised by the defendant in the defence.
…
(3)
If either – (a)
the requirements of rule 63.27(1)(a), (b) and (c) are satisfied, but in the defence the defendant objects to the claim being allocated to the small claims track; or (b)
the requirements of rule 63.27(1)(a) and (b) are satisfied, but not (c), and in the defence the defendant requests that the claim be allocated to the small claims track,
the court will allocate the claim to the small claims track or the multi-track in accordance with Part 26 (case management – preliminary stage). For that purpose the court will send the parties a directions questionnaire and require them to file completed directions questionnaires and to serve them on all other parties within 14 days.
55.Assuming that the requirements of Part 36.27(a) and (b) are satisfied, if the Particulars of Claim state that an IPEC case should be in the small claims track and the defendant agrees in the Defence, it is automatically allocated to small claims when the Defence is filed. 56.In an instance such as the present one, where the claim has been issued in the multitrack but the Defence requests that it be allocated to the small claims track, the claim remains for the time being in the multi-track and the question of allocation is decided at the case management conference. If the court decides that it should be heard in the small claims track, formally it is allocated to that track, for the first time, at the CMC. I therefore agree with the District Judge that although my order of 28 May 2015, following the CMC, stated that the case was transferred to the small claims track, strictly it was allocated to that track, for the first time. 57.CPR 46.11 and 13 provide: