Papers from the CPRC meeting on 6 October 2017 became publicly available on 7 November 2017.
The papers, including the programme of forthcoming CPRC work, again highlight just how busy the CPRC is, on a huge range of fronts. There are also hints about how it is often put under pressure to consider things at the last minute. Continue reading
If there is one aspect of civil procedure that keeps lawyers awake at night (or if not lawyers, their clients), it is the sheer bulk and complexity of disclosure. It may be an exaggeration to say that the English disclosure regime is dysfunctional, but it certainly leaves a lot to be desired. The problem is not just the sheer bulk of disclosure required in an electronic age and the costs that flow from that. It is also the disruption caused to a business when document retention policies have to be suspended, old hard drives resurrected and thousands of files opened as part of a “reasonable search”. In addition to the mechanics of disclosure, there is also privilege to consider, of course, and the strict and sometimes counter-intuitive rules that have held sway in England for some 13 years now, since the Three Rivers litigation. Continue reading
In a commendable judgment dated 24 October 2016 in Premier Motorauctions v Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Snowden J injected a much needed dose of realism into an issue which had, for too long, suffered from a regrettable degree of uncertainty, namely security for costs applications against parties with after the event (ATE) insurance cover. Cases this year suggest that this is now a go-to authority for applications of this sort. Continue reading