Auteur

Edward Spencer

Senior counsel

Londres

Auteur

Edward Spencer

Senior counsel

Londres

13 septembre 2021

Disputes Quick Read – 34 de 78 Publications

Disputes Quick Read: Key changes to the Disclosure Pilot Scheme

Quick read

On 29 July 2021, the Disclosure Working Group announced the latest in a series of updates to the Disclosure Pilot Scheme (DPS).

This scheme was originally launched on 1 January 2019 to limit the scope of disclosure to what is reasonable and proportionate. The relevant practice direction, an increasingly familiar sight to litigators, is PD51U which governs disclosure in the Business and Property Courts.

These changes were initially suggested on 5 February 2021 and submitted to the Civil Procedure Rules Committee for consideration on 9 July 2021. They should receive final approval in the coming months.

What are the key changes to the Disclosure Pilot Scheme?

Extending the DPS

The extension of the DPS until 31 December 2022, four years from its launch, to allow time for implementing and applying these updates, and for any feedback on the DPS.

Creating a system for "Less Complex Claims" within the pilot

This new category caters to claims which, by their nature, value, complexity and the likely volume of Extended Disclosure, are less likely to benefit from the full procedural requirements of PD51U.
Less Complex Claims will include the majority of claims worth less than £500,000, and claims will receive this designation through either an agreement of the parties or from the court.
Only Models A, B and D of Extended Disclosure will be available to Less Complex Claims, with Models A and B requiring neither identification of Issues for Disclosure nor a Disclosure Review Document. Appendix 5 also specifies limiting the number of issues for disclosure to five and keeping them brief, and drafting to a high level of abstraction.
Despite the introduction of this new system, it still is important in each case to consider whether the matter would be more suited to the Shorter Trials Scheme.
Further guidance on a simplified version of the Disclosure Review Document for Less Complex Claims is available in Appendices 6 and 7.

Recognising that disclosure in multi-party claims needs a bespoke approach for each case

Paragraph 13.5 allows disclosing parties in multi-party cases to decide which parties should receive disclosed documents. If it's not possible to reach agreement, Disclosure Guidance can be sought or an application for directions made.
This is a welcome change within an area subject to complaints over the difficulty of reaching agreement between multiple parties, particularly in cases where some of the issues do not apply to all the parties involved.

Changing the category C and D models of disclosure

To simplify the process for agreeing lists, the Disclosure Working Group updated these models of disclosure.
Model C is now called "Disclosure of particular documents or narrow classes of documents" not "Request-led search-based disclosure", reflecting the focused scope for disclosure under this model.
It will also be easier to exclude narrative documents under Model D, potentially reducing the costs that are currently incurred when excluding documents. This change, reflected in paragraph 8.3, encourages parties to take reasonable steps to exclude narrative documents where it is reasonable and proportionate to do so.
One of the main purposes of this particular update is to discourage the use of Model C, which the Disclosure Working Group believes is currently used excessively.

De-emphasising the need for a hearing

The revised wording of paragraph 11 removes all mention of the "Disclosure Guidance Hearings" in favour of more general references to "Disclosure Guidance" and conditional "hearings".
As with all the above, the hope is that a reduced emphasis on the need for hearings will streamline the DPS, making it and the overall disclosure process more efficient.

The community will likely welcome these changes. They show the Working Group’s openness to modifying the DPS to ensure that, when the scheme finally comes to an end, the changes have been thoroughly road-tested and are workable, while still achieving the reform needed to make disclosure a more manageable and effective process.

Find out more

You can read the full details of the changes here. To discuss the issues raised in this article in more detail, please reach out to a member of our Disputes & Investigations team.

Services et Groupes Résolution des litiges

Dans cette série

Résolution des litiges

Failure to prevent fraud – a new offence?

14 August 2023

par plusieurs auteurs

Résolution des litiges

Supreme Court rules that APP fraud victims cannot rely on Quincecare Duty

4 August 2023

par plusieurs auteurs

Résolution des litiges

The Law Commission's Consultation Process on the Arbitration Act 1996 – taking stock

21 July 2023

par Nick Storrs, Elizabeth Montpetit

Résolution des litiges

What does the latest decision of the CAT in the Mastercard/Visa proceedings mean for class actions?

10 July 2023

par Katie Chandler, Samantha Brendish

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: ClientEarth refused permission to pursue directors of Shell

1 June 2023

par plusieurs auteurs

Résolution des litiges

CJC costs review – what will change?

1 June 2023

par James Bryden, Helen Robinson

Résolution des litiges

Embargoed judgments – dos and don'ts

16 May 2023

par Stephanie High

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read – developments in the fixed costs regime

3 May 2023

par James Bryden

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: Service by email – are the rules any clearer?

20 April 2023

par James Bryden

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: Breaking the north/south divide?

5 April 2023

par Saleem Fazal MBE, Tom Charnley

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read - What do practitioners think about making alternative dispute resolution (ADR) compulsory?

8 March 2023

par Elizabeth Montpetit, Stephanie High

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: What are the litigation trends for 2023?

2 March 2023

par Katie Chandler, Emma Allen

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: further guidance on witness statement preparation rules

14 February 2023

par Stephanie High, Kate Hamblin

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: A cautionary tale – settlement agreement (un)wittingly releases all claims for fraud

13 February 2023

par Georgina Jones, Ella Bazini

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: Why the UK should join the Hague Judgments Convention 2019

8 February 2023

par Jessie Prynne

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: extensive information orders granted against crypto exchanges following hack

19 January 2023

par Laurence Lieberman, Georgina Jones

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: A new approach to giving evidence? WhatsApp with that?

3 October 2022

par Gemma Broughall

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: Ethereum Merge - what legal issues arise?

22 September 2022

par Ben Jones, Emma Allen

Cryptoactifs, blockchain et technologie des registres distribués (DLT) et projets Web 3.0

Disputes Quick Read: New obligations on cryptobusinesses to report under the UK sanctions regime

9 August 2022

par Nick Maday

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: Disclosure - What information can be redacted?

25 July 2022

par Edward Spencer, Lizzie Hancock

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: what claims exist when a smart contract is breached?

6 July 2022

par Emma Allen

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: New gateway for serving Norwich Pharmacal Orders and Bankers Trust orders out of the jurisdiction

Welcome news for those pursuing fraud claims in the English Courts

28 July 2022

par Emma Allen, Samantha Brendish

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: Disclosure Pilot Scheme – here to stay

21 July 2022

par Edward Spencer

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: Defining the duty - the limits of the responsibility assumed by professionals

27 July 2022

par Stuart Broom

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: Climate change litigation – successful challenge to government's Net Zero Strategy

29 July 2022

par Jessica Thomas, Lucy Waddicor

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 – now in force

17 June 2022

par Stephanie High

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: an important reminder of the duty to disclose electronic documents in native format

13 June 2022

par Edward Spencer, Lizzie Hancock

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: ENRC prevails in claim against former solicitor

26 May 2022

par Emma Allen, David de Ferrars

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: Climate change litigation update – McGaughey v Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited

31 May 2022

par plusieurs auteurs

Résolution des litiges

Don't lose your keys: Bitcoin developers do not have a duty to assist owners in recovering lost cryptocurrency

4 April 2022

par Emma Allen, Samantha Brendish

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: The new witness statement preparation rules – a year on

5 April 2022

par Stephanie High

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: ClientEarth v Shell – climate change litigation shifts focus to UK companies

31 March 2022

par plusieurs auteurs

Résolution des litiges

Disputes Quick Read: High Court rules that failure to provide adequate data security is not a positive act

21 September 2021

par plusieurs auteurs

Résolution des litiges