Alta Trading UK Ltd (formerly known as Arcadia Petroleum Ltd) & Ors v Peter Miles Bosworth & Ors
[2024] EWHC 574 (Comm)
Município de Mariana & Ors v BHP Group (UK) Ltd & Anor (Ruling on disclosure)
18 April 2024
[2024] EWHC 952 (TCC)
High Court
A company sued another, seeking more information. They wanted details about some people involved, but those people weren't fully named in the initial documents. The judge ruled that getting information about these additional people was fair and necessary for the case to be decided properly, even if it meant slightly more work for the company being sued.
Key Facts
- •Claimants applied to extend disclosure to obtain additional information from defendants.
- •The application concerned Model C requests focusing on employment, agency, and contractor relationships, and performance assessment of BHP affiliated persons.
- •Disagreement arose over including nine additional individuals not explicitly mentioned in the Re-RAMPOC (section C.4.1 to C.4.4) but identified in the re-amended reply (paragraph 105A).
- •Defendants argued the request was belated and exceeded the scope of pleaded issues.
- •Claimants argued the omission was a technical pleading point and the additional individuals' involvement was clearly relevant to pleaded issues.
Legal Principles
The court may order extended disclosure if it is necessary for the just disposal of the proceedings and is reasonable and proportionate.
Practice Direction 57AD, paragraph 18
The court must consider the overriding objective, including the nature and complexity of issues, importance of the case, likelihood of probative documents, number of documents, and ease and expense of retrieval.
Practice Direction 57AD, paragraph 6.4
Outcomes
The court ordered extended disclosure to include the additional nine individuals.
The court found that including these individuals was reasonably necessary, as their knowledge and conduct were clearly relevant to pleaded issues, and the additional burden on defendants would not be onerous. The court considered it convenient to cover all relevant individuals identified in the pleadings during the existing disclosure exercise.
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