Pre-action Disclosure: No Jurisdiction To Hear Application Where Respondent And Documents Both Located Abroad

The High Court has held that it had no jurisdiction to permit an application for pre-action disclosure to be served on a respondent outside England and Wales in respect of documents held outside the jurisdiction: Ebert v Ferrari S.p.A [2026] EWHC 2279 (TCC).

The decision contrasts with Gorbachev v Guriev [2022] EWCA Civ 1270 (considered here) in which the Court of Appeal permitted an application for third party disclosure to be served on a respondent outside the jurisdiction, in circumstances where the documents sought were located in England. The court in the present case distinguished that decision, noting that it had expressly left open the question of the court's jurisdiction where the documents, as well as the respondent, were held abroad.