called as witness

springer211

(in a nutshell my former employer are being taken to court by a contractor, for breach of contract and they are lying about the events. Initially they were harassing me to get information/statement, but did not hear from them again until a phone call today).

Premier_2

springer211 wrote: »

...Could there be repercussions if the company and/or judge think I'm lying and he is telling the truth (perjury, damages etc)?...

If it can be proven that you knowingly lied in court, yes.

You will not get in trouble for telling what you believe to be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth ... even if the court, after having heard the evidence of others, doesn't agree with your version of events.

verytired

It's a moral issue I guess - do you think that telling the truth, or at least your version of it, is worth spending your time in court? The legal system will protect you as long as you can't be proved to be lying.

brightonman123

if you do get called, bets mention to court that ex firm has been pressuring you.. may get you excused..

jimbms

First of all even if forced into court as a witness you can refuse to take an oath if you state you have been forced into coming as a witness and feel any evidence you give will be made under duress, next inform both parties that you are not prepared to give any statement before the case and will not attend court unless sumonsed to do so and even then they will only be able to treat you as a hostile witness, also inform them they will be required to provide transport for you. In doing that they may both feel that having you there could only do harm to each of their cases.

DVardysShadow

springer211 wrote: »

... I am planning to give a statement to my former employer, so that they know what's coming, and are more likely to settle before it gets to court.
Or is it a bad idea?

OK, you know the rules on discovery. If you give it to your former employer, they have to give it to their former supplier. The next thing to think about is self incrimination.

springer211

DVardysShadow wrote: »

OK, you know the rules on discovery. If you give it to your former employer, they have to give it to their former supplier. The next thing to think about is self incrimination.

What do you mean?
I don't think I would incriminate myself as the issue is between the company and the contractor, and I was acting as an agent of the company.
My boss at the time instructed me to take a certain course of action that caused a breach of contract, which he is now denying. There is nothing in writing, obviously. I can't prove that he is lying, but neither can he prove the I'm the one lying.
As I've left the company,in good terms, hopefully they would be more inclined to believe me, as I've got nothing to gain from this mess.

Would they try and slander my character in court though?

HO87

If you decline to make a statement ahead of court proceedings then it is unlikely that you will be called, after all, neither party will have any idea of what you may say. However, if there are relevant documents that you signed or that can be shown to have been dealt with by you during your employment and they are germane to the the case then you may well find yourself called to "prove" these documents whether or not you make a statement.

As this will undoubtedly be a case of Joe Soap Ltd -v- Fred Bloggs Ltd then as a former employee anything you did was as an agent of the company. If this is a breach of contract issue then personal responsibility - to the extent of "incrimination" isn't going to happen. That you undertook certain tasks at the direction of your boss (assuming that of themselves these tasks were not illegal i.e. criminal offences) then I cannot see how you are going to carry the can other than being blamed by your former boss for dropping them in it. If the evidence you could give is going to be helpful to the contractor's case then he is unlikely to attack you. Making a statement to your former employers ahead of time might well serve to scotch the case before it progresses any further and relieve you of the worry. If your former boss "pulled strokes" then you are well to be away from him/her and if their past has caught with them then so be it.

jimbms

HO87 wrote: »

If you decline to make a statement ahead of court proceedings then it is unlikely that you will be called, after all, neither party will have any idea of what you may say. However, if there are relevant documents that you signed or that can be shown to have been dealt with by you during your employment and they are germane to the the case then you may well find yourself called to "prove" these documents whether or not you make a statement.

As this will undoubtedly be a case of Joe Soap Ltd -v- Fred Bloggs Ltd then as a former employee anything you did was as an agent of the company. If this is a breach of contract issue then personal responsibility - to the extent of "incrimination" isn't going to happen. That you undertook certain tasks at the direction of your boss (assuming that of themselves these tasks were not illegal i.e. criminal offences) then I cannot see how you are going to carry the can other than being blamed by your former boss for dropping them in it. If the evidence you could give is going to be helpful to the contractor's case then he is unlikely to attack you. Making a statement to your former employers ahead of time might well serve to scotch the case before it progresses any further and relieve you of the worry. If your former boss "pulled strokes" then you are well to be away from him/her and if their past has caught with them then so be it.

I fully agree, this goes to re-enforce what I said previously, only a fool would call a witness who has not given a statement as they don't know what they will say and as I asume this is a civil case then I do believe the powers they have are very limited.

DVardysShadow

springer211 wrote: »

What do you mean?
I don't think I would incriminate myself as the issue is between the company and the contractor, and I was acting as an agent of the company.
My boss at the time instructed me to take a certain course of action that caused a breach of contract, which he is now denying. There is nothing in writing, obviously. I can't prove that he is lying, but neither can he prove the I'm the one lying.
As I've left the company,in good terms, hopefully they would be more inclined to believe me, as I've got nothing to gain from this mess.

Would they try and slander my character in court though?

A court case on this is likely to be unpredictable for you. When I said 'incriminate' there is more than just legal issues to think of - there is professional standing too. Your former employer may seek to make you the scape goat. The more so if you don't show in court. There are lots of angles on this to think about

springer211

DVardysShadow wrote: »

A court case on this is likely to be unpredictable for you. When I said 'incriminate' there is more than just legal issues to think of - there is professional standing too. Your former employer may seek to make you the scape goat. The more so if you don't show in court. There are lots of angles on this to think about

I understand now.