pre-action disclosure

Ordinarily, parties to civil litigation must wait for disclosure in UK litigation to inspect documents which are relevant to the dispute, which may be months after the commencement of the litigation. Pre-Action disclosure provides a means for the claimant to obtain copies of documents from the intended defendant to properly assess whether or not proceedings should be commenced.

Courts in the UK have the power to grant orders allowing intending claimants to inspect documents and property prior to the commencement of civil litigation against the intended defendant and third parties. Courts have jurisdiction to make flexible orders that may require the recipient of the order to:

1. Disclose whether or not they are in possession or control of documents falling within a named class;
2. Produce those documents to the applicant.

Usage: The intending litigant made an application for pre-action disclosure to ascertain whether it had a good cause of action against the intended defendant prior to committing to commencing litigation.

Related Words: disclosure; litigation; claim form; particulars of claim.