OCS Group UK Limited v Community Health Partnerships Limited
[2023] EWHC 3369 (TCC)
Excelerate Technology Limited v West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS University Foundation Trust & Anor
1 February 2024
[2024] EWHC 177 (TCC)
High Court
A company sued two NHS trusts. They had a fight about sharing information (disclosure). Because they didn't follow the right rules for asking the judge for help, they wasted time and money. The judge helped them anyway, but the company had to pay extra costs because of their mistakes. The lesson: follow the rules when dealing with legal disputes about sharing information.
Key Facts
- •Excelerate Technology Ltd. brought a public procurement claim.
- •Disclosure issues arose, requiring court guidance.
- •The parties failed to follow proper procedure for seeking disclosure guidance, particularly by not issuing a formal application notice (N244) clearly outlining the issues.
- •The court had to sift through 1578 pages of documents to understand the disclosure disputes.
- •The claimant sought various last-minute directions, including deeming compliance with disclosure, confidential disclosure of sensitive documents, and suspending disclosure.
- •The hearing addressed disclosure issues between Excelerate and two defendants: West Midlands Ambulance Service and NHS England.
Legal Principles
Applications for disclosure guidance in Business & Property Courts are generally made under Practice Direction 57AD, paragraph 11. However, public procurement claims are exempt.
Practice Direction 57AD, paragraph 11; Part 31 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998; Practice Direction 31B, paragraph 17
Even outside Practice Direction 57AD, parties should issue an application notice clearly identifying the disclosure issue needing guidance, following the practice of the Business & Property Courts.
Practice Direction 57AD, paragraph 11.2; Practice of the Business & Property Courts
Making applications on the hoof without application notices or evidence is unacceptable practice.
Case Law (implied)
Outcomes
The court provided guidance on the disclosure issues.
The court addressed the issues despite procedural failings, emphasizing the importance of proper procedure.
Excelerate ordered to pay NHS England's costs of the hearing.
Excelerate's failure to engage timeously with NHS England's position and failure to issue an application notice led to unnecessary costs for NHS England.
Costs of the hearing were ordered to be in the case between Excelerate and West Midlands Ambulance Service.
Both parties accepted criticisms regarding their handling of disclosure obligations.