Under the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), parties are required to reveal certain documents or conduct searches and then disclose any relevant documents and their findings. Parties typically request this after the initial disclosure in civil litigation, when they suspect the opposing side hasn’t provided enough evidence for their claims. For example, major evidential gaps in email correspondence, or unjustified refusal to submit material needed to back their argument.
Application for specific disclosure
A party can apply for specific disclosure by filing an application notice – a Form N244 – under CPR 31.12, which includes the following components:
- Clear identification of the documents requested to be disclosed
- Relevance of the documents to a fair resolution of the case
The court will consider if there were attempts to informally resolve the issue, whether the refusal to disclose information was unjustified, how important the documents are to the case, the specificity of the request, and the timing. Early applications are often better than ones made later in proceedings. Being specific about the document class or type increases your chance of a successful claim.
Being served court-ordered specific disclosure
Noncompliance can result in the court striking out your case and imposing severe sanctions. Even documents that might seem detrimental to a case should not be kept back. Nonetheless, there are a few possible reasons for a party’s objection to particular disclosure:
- The party no longer possesses, has access to, or controls the document
- The request is disproportionate to resolving the issues in the case. Although this will be difficult to prove once the court has already ordered specific disclosure, as it is an indication that they acknowledge the significance of the documents requested
It is adviseable to locate and submit the documents requested as soon as possible. If the submission of the documents dramatically reduces the chances of succeeding in a case, it is sometimes recommended to explore settlement options to save time and costs.
For professional legal advice, Nath Solicitors can be contacted on 0203 983 8278 or email us at enquiries@nathsolicitors.co.uk.