client customer signing contract

November 14 2022

Disclosure: A Key Tool To Access Information and Documents

Back to news overview
Save as PDF
Print
icon

The court is frequently asked to order disclosure where documents or information is – or is suspected to be – crucial to the party’s case; and non-disclosure is prejudicial. The award-winning commercial disputes lawyers at ParrisWhittaker are experienced in representing businesses in Jamaica who require access to information that’s in someone else’s possession. 

A request for disclosure of documents or information may readily responded to, particularly if the other party has not been involved in any wrongdoing – but that would be unusual. An applicant may, for instance, seek bank records and other financial information or information about individuals’ identities to resolve an issue or to shed light on a suspected pattern of misconduct. 

Where a request has been made and the other party refuses to disclose the information, the applicant can ask the court to order disclosure. The nature of the application and any order made depends on the circumstances. 

Two types of order are particularly valuable: orders for specific disclosure; and ‘Norwich Pharmacal’ orders which are made against a third party. 

Order for Specific Disclosure

A party to a dispute who refuses to hand over information to their opponent in civil proceedings could be made subject to a court order for specific disclosure. The Civil Procedure Rules 2002 allow such an order, but only in relation to documents that are ‘directly relevant’ to one or more matters in issue in the proceedings. 

Whether or not it would be ordered will depend on the benefits of ordering disclosure and the costs involved in doing so. This means the applicant must not be merely on a fishing exercise – the information sought must directly impact the substantive matter of their claim or defence. 

Where an order for specific disclosure is made, the listed documents and information within their possession or control must be delivered up within a specific time scale. 

Norwich Pharmacal Order

A Norwich Pharmacal Order serves a particular purpose where disclosure is required. Crucially, the order is made against an ‘innocent’ party who is not suspected of wrongdoing. Rather, they hold information which is considered crucial to ascertaining where fault or criminal activity lies on the part of someone else. 

The order itself obliges an individual or corporation to disclose documents and/or information that could assist with identifying a third party suspected of wrongdoing, such as fraudulent or other criminal activity. 

Norwich Pharmacal orders can be used in proceedings ranging from breach of contract to defamation and alleged fraud. It is a particularly useful tool in requiring internet hosting services and internet service providers to disclose information about the identity of service users suspected of, eg using social media platforms for malicious or libellous purposes while adopting a cloak of anonymity. 

Key takeaways

The right to disclosure of information and documents is vital during business disputes and enables the parties to gather crucial evidence to support their case. A failure to disclose, without a reasonable legal cause, could result in a court order against the party refusing to accede to a request for information. It’s likely they will also be expected to pay the legal costs of securing an order for disclosure. 

For specialist assistance in Jamaica in securing disclosure against an individual or organisation, contact the commercial team at ParrisWhittaker urgently on +1.242.352.6112

CLOSE X

c1f84afce64b29069b27ffb36226af5a