PROVING THINGS 212: MISTAKE, TRUSTS & TAXATION: “IT IS CLEAR THAT HIS WITNESS STATEMENT WAS CONSTRUCTED WITH ONLY PASSING REFERENCE TO WHAT HIS EVIDENCE IN CHIEF WOULD BE IF CALLED TO GIVE ORAL EVIDENCE”
The adequacy of witness evidence was considered in detail in the judgment of Deputy Master Marsh in Dukeries Healthcare Ltd v Bay Trust International Ltd & Ors [2021] EWHC 2086 (Ch). It shows the danger of setting out a case…
WITNESS STATEMENTS AND HILLSBOROUGH: AN ACADEMIC ANALYSIS OF HOW THE EVIDENCE WAS GATHERED
I have written several times about the major difficulties caused by the process of taking witness statements following the Hillsborough disaster. The process of taking statements is analysed by an academic in Hillsborough disaster: a revealing analysis of the language…
WITNESS STATEMENTS AND GATHERING WITNESS EVIDENCE: THE LESSONS THAT LAWYERS MUST LEARN FROM HILLSBOROUGH: WEBINAR 19th JULY 2021
On the 19th July 2021 I am presenting a webinar that looks at the implications of the Hillsborough case from the point of view of collecting witness evidence. Booking details are available here . NB – the webinar will be broadcast…
WHEN CAN A LAY WITNESS GIVE THEIR “OPINION”? SOMETHING YOU NEED TO KNOW
The judgment of Sir Michael Burton in Mad Atelier International BV v Manes [2021] EWHC 1899 (Comm) shows that it is essential for civil litigators to have detailed knowledge of what is “opinion” evidence and when it is allowed in a…
DEFENDANT UNSUCCESSFUL IN APPLICATION TO STRIKE OUT PART OF CLAIMANT’S WITNESS EVIDENCE: WHEN “HYPOTHETICAL” EVIDENCE MAY BE ADMISSIBLE
The judgment of Sir Michael Burton in Mad Atelier International BV v Manes [2021] EWHC 1899 (Comm) is possibly the first time that Practice Direction 57AC – Trial Witness Statements in the Business and Property Courts has been considered by the…
“CARE MUST BE TAKEN IN ASSESSING A WITNESS WHO IS REPLYING TO QUESTIONS ASKED THROUGH AN INTERPRETER”: SOME PROBLEMS EXEMPLIFIED
Some of the difficulties a court has when considering witness evidence through a translator are set out in the judgment of Deputy Judge Agnello QC in Jackson v Song [2021] EWHC 1636 (Ch). “I have considered the evidence of…
WITNESS STATEMENTS & HILLSBOROUGH (A REPEAT II): CONFIRMATION BIAS AT ITS WORST
The tragic events of Hillsborough are in the news again. I am here repeating a post first written in 2016. The post is on one small part of the process: the initial gathering of evidence. It was the flawed nature…
CLAIMANTS WIDE RANGING EVIDENCE EXCLUDED: HIGH COURT DECISION TODAY
In BB & Ors v Al Khayyat & Ors [2021] EWHC 1499 (QB) Mr Justice Chamberlain allowed, in part, an application by a defendant that certain evidence put forward by the claimants in relation to an application be excluded. THE…
HILLSBOROUGH AND WITNESS STATEMENTS 1 (A REPEAT): THE INITIAL PROCESS AND SUBSEQUENT AMENDMENTS
This is a repeat of a post first written on this blog in April 2016. There is always a danger in writing about a tragedy that the human consequences, the pain and suffering of the victims and family members are…
WITNESS STATEMENTS: HILLSBOROUGH AND THE ROLE OF THE SOLICITOR
The previous post on this blog presented what is most probably the first academic research into the taking of witness statements. It is remarkable that such a central part of the lawyer’s role remains unresearched. The blunt reality is that…
RESEARCH INTO THE TAKING OF WITNESS STATEMENTS: A POST FROM PROFESSOR PENNY COOPER AND DR MICHELLE MATTISON
A recent High Court decision emphasised that all legal cases are, in reality, all about the facts. Despite that there is very little research into the role of the judge as fact finder. There is even less research on the…
PARTY ALLOWED TO RELY ON WITNESS SUMMARIES: RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS GRANTED WHEN PERMISSION SOUGHT RETROSPECTIVELY
In Benyatov v Credit Suisse Securities (Europe) Ltd [2021] EWHC 1318 (QB) Mr Justice Freedman gave the claimant permission to rely on witness summaries. He also granted the claimant relief from sanctions in relation to late service of those summaries. …
LAWYERS, CLIENTS AND WITNESS STATEMENTS: REDUCING THE RISKS: SOME EXAMPLES AND A STRATEGY
Many people kindly send me cases for publication on this site. Sometimes the information they send with the case is as enlightening as the case itself. In a recent example I was told that a litigant had tried to throw…
DEFENDANT FAILS TO BEAT CLAIMANT’S PART 36 OFFER: PART 36 CONSEQUENCES HELD NOT TO APPLY: THE CONSEQUENCES OF SERVING EVIDENCE LATE
The judgment of Mr Justice Johnson in Head v The Culver Heating Co Ltd [2021] EWHC 1235 (QB) is one that is of profound interest to those involved in fatal accident litigation. I will be writing about the damages aspect…
PROVING THINGS 211: PROVING DAMAGES AND CAUSATION: CLAIM £3 MILLION GET £2,000: “A WEAK AND SPECULATIVE CLAIM”
We have already looked once at the judgment of Mr Justice Fraser in Beattie Passive Norse Ltd & Anor v Canham Consulting Ltd [2021] EWHC 1116 (TCC). However given that the claimants were seeking in excess of £3 million and…
A LOT ABOUT LITIGATION CONDUCT HERE: SIGNATURE OF THE STATEMENT OF TRUTH: POOR BUNDLES: POOR WITNESS STATEMENTS AND THE TOTAL LACK OF WISDOM IN SENDING MATERIAL DIRECTLY TO THE JUDGE IN THE MIDDLE OF A TRIAL…
The judgment of Mr Justice Fraser in Beattie Passive Norse Ltd & Anor v Canham Consulting Ltd [2021] EWHC 1116 (TCC) demonstrate some “unusual” conduct in litigation. Not least the claimant’s solicitors wrote to the judge, in the middle of…
WITNESS STATEMENTS: WITNESSES CAN, AND PROBABLY SHOULD, REFRESH THEIR MEMORY FROM CONTEMPORARY DOCUMENTS
Evidence of the degree and knowledge needed in drafting witness statements can be seen in the judgment of Mr Justice Jacobs in Global Display Solutions Ltd & Ors v NCR Financial Solutions Group Ltd & Anor [2021] EWHC 1119 (Comm)….
LYING IN A WITNESS STATEMENTS PASSES THE CUSTODY THRESHOLD: WHEN A PARTY ASSERTED THEY DID NOT KNOW A WITNESS
In Axa Insurance UK Plc v Reid (Rev 1) [2021] EWHC 993 (QB) Mrs Justice Eady found that telling lies in a witness statement in a personal injury case passed the custody threshold. A claimant in a personal injury, who…
THE DANGERS OF LEAVING SERVICE OF EVIDENCE UNTIL THE LAST MINUTE: DEFENDANT MISCALCULATED TIME WITNESS STATEMENTS DUE – REQUIRED RELIEF FROM SANCTIONS
In Soriano v Forensic News LLC & Ors [2021] EWHC 873 (QB) Mr Justice Johnson granted relief from sanctions to a defendant who served witness evidence late. However the defendant’s failures were serious and significant and the defendant had no…
WITNESS STATEMENTS IN THE BUSINESS AND PROPERT COURTS: GESTMIN PRINCIPLES NOW ENSHRINED IN THE RULES
From the 6th April this year some of the key principles from the judgment in Gestmin SGPS S.A. -v- Credit Suisse [2013] EWCA 3560 (Comm) are effectively enshrined into the rules. Key parts of the Gestmin principles are included in the Appendix to…