When a party loses litigation capacity, or a legal representative dies or loses authority, what must happen before the case moves on?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the pleadings to identify the party, look for any record that the party lost litigation capacity or that the legal representative died or lost authority, and read the paper in which the party who recovered capacity or the new legal representative asks to take up the proceedings.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading treats suspension as following automatically from the events the provision names: when a party loses litigation capacity, or when a legal representative dies or loses the authority to represent, the proceedings stand suspended, and the party who has recovered capacity, or the person who has become the legal representative, must then take up the proceedings.
Another reading notes what the provision does not fix: it sets no period for taking up, no procedure and no consequence if nobody takes up, so the file must show the event itself and who now holds the capacity or the representative authority that the provision requires before the proceedings can move on.
Your judgment
How could the file show that the person asking to take up the proceedings is the party who recovered capacity, or the person who has become the legal representative?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to set a period or a procedure for taking up the proceedings, or if a court decision explains who may take up the proceedings where the court appoints a substitute representative.