The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has handed down a decision that potentially increases the scope for parties in non-US legal proceedings to use the US courts to access evidence held by US-connected entities, even if that evidence is not located in the US: Re Application of Antonio Del Valle Ruiz 18-3226 … Read more

Among the extensive discussion of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) over the past two years, one area where there has been a marked lack of detailed practical guidance is the question of how it applies in the context of conducting litigation. This may be in part because the issues are not straightforward. In many … Read more

The Supreme Court has held that there is no limit to the court’s discretion to grant non-party access to court documents. The guiding principle is the need for justice to be done in the open. Courts at all levels throughout the UK have an inherent jurisdiction to allow access in accordance with that principle: Cape … Read more

The High Court has considered applications relating to a disclosure order made under the disclosure pilot scheme which has applied in the Business and Property Courts since 1 January 2019: Vannin Capital PCC v RBOS Shareholders Action Group Ltd [2019] EWHC 1617 (Ch). The decision clarifies that, in applying to vary a disclosure order under … Read more

The High Court has confirmed that the Disclosure Pilot operating in the Business and Property Courts since 1 January 2019 applies to all proceedings currently on foot in those courts (apart from those specifically excluded), regardless of whether orders for disclosure were made prior to that date. Accordingly, any applications for further orders regarding disclosure … Read more

The Court of Appeal has upheld a first instance decision requiring the claimant Iranian bank to produce customer documents in unredacted form, subject to measures to protect their confidentiality, despite the fact that compliance would put the claimant in breach of Iranian law: Bank Mellat v HM Treasury [2019] EWCA Civ 449. This case gives … Read more

In a decision illustrating the court’s strict approach to the rule prohibiting the use of disclosed documents and witness statements for a collateral purpose, the High Court has refused a party permission to provide disclosed documents and witness statements to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for the purpose of complying with a US … Read more

The High Court has ordered Tesco to disclose, in civil proceedings brought by its shareholders under s.90A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (“FSMA”), documents that the SFO had provided in confidence to Tesco’s legal representatives in the course of negotiating a deferred prosecution agreement: Omers Administration Corporation & Ors v Tesco plc … Read more