Litigation Notes

Party penalised in costs for disproportionate application to strike out witness evidence for non-compliance with PD 57AC

High Court decision suggests party alleging witness statement fails to comply with PD 57AC must identify specific failures

The latest in a line of High Court decisions considering Practice Direction (PD) 57AC, which applies to trial witness statements signed since April 2021, …

High Court orders witness statements to be redrafted due to serious non-compliance with PD 57AC

Another decision regarding a failure to comply with the new requirements for trial witness statements under PD 57AC

A recent High Court decision has taken a similar approach to previous cases in refusing to strike out a witness statement for failure to comply with …

Further guidance on new requirements for trial witness statements under Practice Direction 57AC

High Court gives guidance on new requirements for trial witness statements

A recent High Court judgment gives guidance on the new requirements under Practice Direction (PD) 57AC, which applies to trial witness statements signed …

High Court draws adverse inferences from failure to call relevant witness, and finds default interest clause to be an unenforceable penalty

The High Court has rejected a claim for misrepresentation, finding that although a fraudulent misrepresentation had been made, it had not induced the …

New regime for trial witness statements does not change law on admissibility

Article published - Witness evidence and refreshing memory: virtue or vice?

The most controversial feature of the new regime for trial witness statements in the Business and Property Courts, at Practice Direction 57AC and its …

Witness immunity rule did not apply to examination conducted under s.236 of the Insolvency Act 1986

The High Court has held that an examination conducted pursuant to an order made under s.236 of the Insolvency Act 1986 ("IA") did not attract witness …

Commercial Court finds witness evidence less reliable where witnesses did not refresh memories from contemporaneous documents

Court of Appeal finds evidence should not have been excluded even if it was obtained by hacking

The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal against a judge's decision upholding a claim where the claimant had relied on evidence obtained through …