“The only advice that the receiving party,” that is Mr Mawer, the defendant in this proceeding, “was given by Mr Rouse,” that is an associate solicitor at Clarion Solicitors, “or my firm,” that is Clarion Solicitors, “in respect of the retainers, which I must accept appears to have been given without sufficient detailed consideration, was without any waiver of privilege or confidentiality, that the retainers may fall within the definition of conditional fee agreements; that even if they were conditional fee agreements, they complied with the Act,” that is the Courts and Legal Services Act, “that the retainers would not be unenforceable on a solicitor own client basis, but that the success fee might not be recoverable; and that the second retainer was not relevant in any event because nothing turned on the receiving party leaving Begbies Traynor to become a director of Forensic Recovery Limited because his appointment as trustee in bankruptcy was personal and the first retainer between him and Ward Hadaway continued to have effect. The receiving party was also advised not to disclose the retainers as the paying party had not disclosed a genuine issue that would justify that step. Obviously, the advice in relation to disclosure is likely to have been conditioned by the view that the retainers appeared unproblematic and that the question of the second retainer on moving firms was essentially irrelevant.”
“The important issue of principle raised in this appeal is whether the oath or affirmation of the deponent in proper form in pursuance of an order for specific discovery under order 24, rule 7, is conclusive or can the other party by cross-examination or otherwise, seek to show that it is untrue so that an order can be made under rule 16.”
“The reasons for the rule that the statement and the affidavit of documents is conclusive, save to the extent that a further affidavit may be ordered, are not far to seek.”
“In the great majority of cases where it is alleged that one party or the other has supressed documents, this issue will be crucially relevant to the issues in the trial and can only properly be determined after the judge at trial has heard all the evidence. To try the issue at an interlocutory stage could involve injustice to both sides. Assume it is the defendant who is alleged to have suppressed documents. The judge might believe the defendant despite the cross-examination. That would be an injustice to the plaintiff who had not deployed all his evidence. If the judge disbelieved the defendant simply on the cross-examination, that could be an injustice to the defendant, because there might be other evidence which he could call which might persuade the judge that he was telling the truth or, at least, leave the matter in doubt so that the plaintiff would not have discharged the burden of proof. Mr Pollock says here that there is nothing to prevent the defendants calling other evidence at the interlocutory hearing. I do not agree. That was not what the judge had ordered. He has only ordered cross-examination of the deponents. Such a procedure would subvert the normal method of trial. The defendants would be subjected to an inquisitorial enquiry without having the advantage of hearing first the plaintiff’s case and their own evidence adduced in chief.”
“Plainly, the atmosphere in the case is such that the plaintiffs have grave scepticism about anything said on behalf of the defendants, but it is not a purpose of discovery to give the opposing party the opportunity to check up on whether the discovery has been properly carried out. If they do not believe the deponent, they should call for him to appear and be cross-examined on his oath. Alternatively, if they wish to do so, they may seek the opportunity at the trial to explore the matter further.”
“The remark is clearly obiter and was made in the course of an ex-tempore judgment. None of the authorities to which we have been referred were cited to the court.”