Commercial Litigation Part 31 Of The Civil Procedure Rules}

Commercial Litigation- Part 31 of the Civil Procedure Rules

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Summerfield BrowneThe civil procedure rules (CPR) govern commercial litigation disputes. The CPR rules determine the procedure for conducting civil litigation and can in certain circumstances be used to gain a tactical advantage particularly in relation to obtaining a favourable settlement.

If you are in the process, or have recently purchased a commercial business, then you should have conducted due diligence to determine the risks associated with the purchase. Failure to conduct due diligence can have negative repercussions both for yourself, and also your newly acquired business. Due diligence is defined as an in depth analysis of a business to establish its assets, liabilities and to fully analyse any commercial potential that the business may have.

It is an important process, and may give rise to commercial disputes regarding the nature and extent of disclosure of documents, or information prior to purchase. It is generally the case, that in any business purchase agreement, there will be several clauses in the contract regarding disclosure of business documents. Often, such business purchase agreements are reviewed by a commercial lawyer who will be able to analyse and evaluate any potential shortcomings, that may later have adverse effects.

If you fail to conduct thorough due diligence and find yourself in a commercial dispute then part 31 of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), may be of some help. Part 31 of the CPR concerns itself with the disclosure of documents pursuant to formal litigation proceedings, and can be detrimental to many cases, and is the difference between success and failure for some.

Firstly, if you wish to view any documents which the defending party is in possession of, then the first step will be in the form of an order for standard disclosure. The disclosing party must conduct a reasonable search’ for the specified documents. A reasonable search’ is interpreted on a variety of factors. These factors include the nature and complexity of the proceedings, the ease and expense of retrieval on any listed document, and also the significance of any document likely to be included.

After the request for standard disclosure is received, then all relevant commercial documents that the disclosing party is willing to disclose must be listed and should be in Form N265. The obligations of an order to disclosure will remain until the commercial litigation proceedings come to a close.

However, if you are unhappy with the documents that have been disclosed, and believe that they are inadequate, then there is an alternative option. In a commercial dispute a specific disclosure order can be granted, this is a disclosure order for certain specified documents that would otherwise not have been released. The Court will take into account several factors when deciding whether to grant a specific disclosure order. If the Court arrives at the conclusion that the disclosing party has not conducted a reasonable search’, then a specific order form may be granted in your favour.

Summerfield Browne have offices in London, Birmingham, Cambridge, Oxford, Northampton & Market Harborough, Leicester.

www.summefieldbrowne.com

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