Executive Summaries

An ATE Insurance policy is provided by a specialist insurer to provide protection to a party in the event after court proceedings they have to make payment of an opponent’s legal costs.

Electronic Disclosure (“eDisclosure”) is a part of the disclosure process and applies in multi-track claims, this being where the value of the claim is over £25,000. Parties are required to provide electronic disclosure alongside standard disclosure. For that reason, this executive summary should be read in conjunction with the disclosure executive summary.

A CFA is a funding option that we may consider for your case. This executive summary provides guidance on what a CFA is and how it works. In short, a CFA shares both risk and reward with you.

Costs budgeting is a process designed so that all parties have transparency and, to some extent, certainty on costs in litigation.

Disclosure is the process during proceedings whereby the parties reveal to one another documents that
either support or are detrimental to their claim.

This executive summary is designed to be read in conjunction with our executive summary entitled Disclosure. This is because the fundamentals of disclosure remain the same, but the means by which they are achieved are different with the pilot scheme for the Business and Property courts (“B&PC’s”).

A freezing injunction is a powerful tool that in certain circumstances can be used against a defendant in proposed or active proceedings.

Limitation sets out the period of time within which a legal claim must be brought until it becomes statute barred; in other words, before it can no longer be pursued.

Litigation is governed by a stringent set of rules known as the Civil Procedure Rules (“CPR”). This executive summary provides an overview of this process.

A non-party disclosure (or Norwich Pharmacal) application is a means to obtain
documentation/information that may be vital to understand your legal position, identify
wrongdoers and potential remedies.

During the pre-trial stage of court proceedings, a party may take the view that the Particulars of Claim or Defence (known as the statements of case), does not provide enough information about the nature of their claim or defence. If this happens, it may be beneficial to make a formal request to the opponent to either clarify or give additional information.

A Part 36 offer is an offer of settlement that can be made to an opponent, and which can apply significant tactical pressure due to its considerable cost consequences.

An application for pre-action disclosure may be made prior to the issuing of a claim and can be used to assist a claimant to formulate their claim.

Privilege is unique to the legal profession. In short, if privilege applies, it ensures that the opponent will not be able to view certain documentation.

Once proceedings are issued, security for costs can be an important tool to use in litigation. The process is predominantly used by defendants in litigation who are confident in defending their claim but suspect that the claimant will not or cannot pay any costs awarded against it. Security for costs can also be sought by a claimant against the defendant in respect of any counterclaim.

Disclosure is the process whereby the parties reveal to one another documents that either support or are detrimental to their claim. Co-operation and proportionality are fundamental to the disclosure process under the Disclosure Pilot Scheme.

A witness statement is a formal document that ultimately forms the basis of your witness evidence in the event that the matter proceeds to a trial or other hearing. This summary focuses on new rules for witness statements used at trials in the Business and Property Courts, but the principles will apply more generally to all witnesses of fact notwithstanding the location of proceedings.

Whilst they are two standalone processes, each with their own set of governing rules within the CPR, there is a substantial overlap between the power to award summary judgment and the power to strike out and it is quite common for them to be used alongside each other in one application.

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