NIPC Law

  Jane Lambert Since 6 April 2021 Practice Direction 57AC Practice Direction 57AC - Trial Witness Statements in the Business and Property Courts  has regulated the form and content of witness statements for use in trials in the Business and Property Courts.  In  Greencastle MM LLP v Payne and other s [2022] EWHC 438 (IPEC) (13 Jan 2022), Mr Justice Fancourt withdrew permission for the service of the claimant's witness statements for a trial that was due to come on in less than a month's time on the ground that they failed to comply with the Practice Direction.   In that case, there was time to serve a replacement witness statement and his lordship gave the claimant a week to do that but the courts have power to impose a wide range of sanctions including striking out non-compliant statements. I discussed that case and PD57AC in Preparing Witness Statements for Use in Trials in IP Actions: Greencastle v Payne   on 7 May 2022.   I made...

Author Francis Carruthers Gould  Source Wikimedia Commons Jane Lambert Chancery Division (Mr Justice Fancourt)  Greencastle MM LLP v Payne and others   [2022] EWHC 438  (13 Jan 2022) For many years witnesses in civil proceedings in England and Wales have delivered their  evidence in chief  in writing. That shortens trials and enables parties to know the case they have to meet at an early stage but it has given rise to concerns that factual witness statements are often ineffective in performing their core function of achieving best evidence at proportionate cost. Those concerns were expressed at a meeting of the Commercial Court Users’ Committee in March 2018.  A working group was set up consisting of: Mr Justice Popplewell (Commercial Court) (Chair)  Mr Justice Andrew Baker (Commercial Court)  Mr Justice Fancourt (Chancery Division)  Mr Justice Waksman (Commercial Court and Technology and Construction Court, and formerly Circuit Com...