Christopher Sharp QC discusses how a group of recent cases have revealed some worrying aspects of how experts, and their instructing lawyers, approach the exercise of preparing a joint statement pursuant to the Part 35 regime.
Although in at least one case (Mayr & Others v CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP [2018] EWHC 3669 (Comm)) there was a suspicion that the failure to conduct the exercise appropriately may have been deliberate, there is also (as in BDW Trading Ltd v Integral Geotechnique (Wales) Ltd [2018] EWHC 1915 (TCC)) an indication that experts may simply not fully appreciate their professional duties. In a third case (Saunders v Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2018] EWHC 343 the judge was critical of a 60 page joint statement that did nothing to “agree and narrow” the issues. The experts/parties seemed to have lost sight of the purpose of the joint statement. Read more here.
This article will be a useful read to legal practitioners dealing with any civil litigation.
Download article: Part 35 and the experts’ joint statement