Understanding CPR PD 57AD: Legal Guidelines

When you run a business, you may find that your company becomes a party to court proceedings. Commercial litigation can occur, for example, if you disagree with another company you do business with and fall into a commercial dispute. If you are part of a commercial court case, you must understand the litigation rules in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), such as the disclosure process. This article will explain CPR PD 57AD and its legal guidelines for disclosure in commercial litigation, including various disclosure models.

What is Disclosure?  

Disclosure in commercial litigation is where each party to the court proceedings gives the other evidence for their case. This evidence can support or undermine the other party’s argument. 

What is CPR PD 57AD?

One reason for its introduction was to address the volume of data generated by corporate clients regarding disclosure requirements. This new rule contains several detailed provisions, and we will examine some of these here.

Initial Disclosure

In commercial litigation, you may need to provide an Initial Disclosure, as specified by the rules in CPR PD 57AD. If this applies to you, you will include Initial Disclosure when submitting your Statement of Case. Initial Disclosure involves creating a list of documents, often in electronic format, and providing copies of these documents. The required documents for Initial Disclosure include those that:

• support your argument in your Statement of Case; and
• are necessary for the other party to understand your arguments.

Five Additional Types of Disclosure

If your case follows Practice Direction (PD) 57 AD, the court may order five different types of disclosure. The court can do this instead of or in addition to initial disclosure. These include:

• Model A: disclosure confined to known adverse documents;
• Model B: limited disclosure;
• Model C: disclosure of particular documents or narrow classes of documents;
• Model D: narrow search-base disclosure, which can be with or without Narrative Documents; and 
• Model E: wide search-based disclosure, which the Court will order where the case is exceptional. 

Your legal representative will understand and advise you on the exact details of these disclosure models. A court may order one or more of these various models, and it could choose a model due to the different issues in your case or types of documents. However, part of CPR PD 57 addresses ensuring disclosure remains practical for the parties involved. 

Sanctions Under CPR PD 57AD

Part of the rules under CPR PD 57AD outlines the court’s authority to impose sanctions on a party that fails to meet its disclosure obligations. These sanctions vary, but common examples include:

• the Case Management Conference (CMC) being adjourned by the court;
• you being asked to pay costs to the other party for your breach;
• the court preventing you from recovering costs from the other party for the creation of the Disclosure Review Document (DRD); and 
• the Court ordering parties to revisit the completion of the DRD.

In rare cases, the court has also directed parties to produce a new plan for a fresh disclosure.

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Key Takeaways

When you are party to commercial litigation, you must abide by the Civil Procedural Rules (CPR). You may need to disclose, which involves passing the other party evidence that can support or undermine their argument. CPR PD 57 AD is a practice directive within these rules, specifically addressing disclosure in the business and property courts. It outlines various aspects of disclosure, including initial disclosure, where you provide documents to the other party you rely on to support your case.

Additionally, CPR PD 57 AD introduces new disclosure models that a court may order in place of or in addition to initial disclosure. It also grants courts the authority to impose sanctions on parties who fail to comply with disclosure requirements, such as ordering them to pay costs to the other party.

If you need help understanding CPR PD 57AD, our experienced disputes and litigation solicitors can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to solicitors to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today on 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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