Evidence disclosure

smcclean22

Hello,

I am appearing in county court over a car accident dispute. My query is that does all the evidence need to be disclosed prior to entering court so both the defendants and claimants party can see this? Is there a final deadline submission for evidence to be put forward before the court hearing?
Can the other party present evidence in court which they have not disclosed before?
Thanks for taking your time to read this, your reply are very much appreciated

Quentin

Prior to the hearing both sides are given instructions by the court.

This will include that any documents to be used must be copied and sent to both the court and the other side by a given deadline. Both sides should then bring the originals to the hearing. Unless everyone agrees, you cannot introduce new documents after the deadline has passed.

smcclean22

Quentin wrote: »

Prior to the hearing both sides are given instructions by the court.

This will include that any documents to be used must be copied and sent to both the court and the other side by a given deadline. Both sides should then bring the originals to the hearing. Unless everyone agrees, you cannot introduce new documents after the deadline has passed.

So will both parties be able to see each other evidence prior to going to court? as my solictors have disclosed everything, however the other party have only come back to us with one piece of evidence. I personally feel they may have more but are yet failing to disclose it

mattymoo

The courts take a very dim view of the late introduction of evidence and will normally disallow such evidence if it was capable of disclosure at a much earlier date.

This all came about in the Woolf reforms in 1994 (iirc). The priniple is to get as many cases settled as possible without ever reaching the court room.

Crazy_Jamie

So will both parties be able to see each other evidence prior to going to court?

Yes. Disclosure is a vital part of the claims process. Both parties have to 'show their hands' (so to speak) before going to court. If a party turns up with new evidence on the day then the court has discretion on how to deal with it. They can disallow it entirely, allow it with a short adjournment for the other side to address it, adjourn the hearing entirely until another day (in which case an adverse costs order is usually made against the offending party), and so on. But matty is right when he says that judges take a very dim view of parties that don't adhere to orders for disclosure. They won't gain anything from it in the long run.

SolicitorMidlands

Is this allocated to the small claims track? If so, the normal rules of evidence do not apply. You can turn up on the day with something you want to show the Judge, serve it on the other party at the doors. Although the Judge may question why it has not been disclosed before, if it is relevant it is highly likely to be allowed in.

However, my advice would always be to disclose everything relevant at least 14 days before the final hearing.