Disclosure

The High Court has approved the use of predictive coding in e-disclosure, for what is believed to be the first time in this jurisdiction. Master Matthews was ruling on a case involving 3.1m documents.

A party cannot use part of an open offer made during litigation as an admission by their opponent, the High Court has ruled. Mr Justice Coulson said that to allow this would be contrary to the policy of courts encouraging parties to make offers.

This past month Ireland has given me cause for celebration due to the decision in Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Ltd & ors v Quinn & ors [2015] IEHC 175, which sanctioned the use of predictive coding technology in the disclosure process.

Three City firms – Clyde & Co, Stephenson Harwood and Addleshaw Goddard – face a combined disclosure exercise which could last for months and cost £2.5m after a High Court ruling on legal professional privilege.

An e-disclosure protocol developed in a collaborative initiative by practitioners and legal IT specialists has been approved by the Technology and Construction Court for use from 1 January 2014.

The courts’ tough approach to relief from sanctions since 1 April has been tempered by a ruling where it declined to strike out a defence because of errors made in complying with an ‘unless order’.

It would be “unfortunate” if the stricter post-Jackson approach to compliance with orders should encourage parties to refuse reasonable requests for time extensions in the hope that the court might refuse any extension at all, the High Court has said.

Courts around the world are cracking down on costs yet the complexity of complying with disclosure rules is increasing, especially where multiple languages are involved. Drew Macaulay of Consilio looks at the major challenges facing litigators when dealing with multi-lingual disclosure.