Summary: We cannot investigate Ms Z’s complaint about legal proceedings involving the Council. This is because the law does not allow us to investigate complaints about court action and what happened in court.

The complaint

1. Ms Z complains she incurred costs because of court proceedings involving the Council. She also complains about the Council’s related conduct. She says this affected her health, reputation, and work. She wants the Council to apologise and pay financial redress for her legal fees and cost orders.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. The Local Government Act 1974 sets out our powers but also imposes restrictions on what we can investigate.
3. We cannot investigate a complaint about the start of court action or what happened in court. (Local Government Act 1974, Schedule 5/5A, paragraph 1/3, as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

4. I considered information provided by the complainant and the Council, and the Ombudsman’s Assessment Code.

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My assessment

5. Ms Z’s complaint is about court proceedings and what happened in court. The law says we cannot investigate these matters. We have no discretion to investigate Ms Z’s complaint.

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Final decision

6. We cannot investigate Ms Z’s complaint because the law says we cannot investigate complaints about court action and what happened in court.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman