Pre-Action Disclosure - The ECU Group v HSBC

Case Alert - [2017] EWHC 3011 (Comm)

Judge considers what needs to be proven to obtain pre-action disclosure and the impact of a limitation defence

The claimant applied for pre-action disclosure pursuant to CPR r31.16. The judge summarised the main principles when considering this type of application (citing Black v Sumitomo [2002]). There was some discussion between the parties whether the applicant had to show that without the disclosure it could not properly plead its case and/or that even without disclosure, the case had a real prospect of success (those two issue being potentially inconsistent if they both have to be proven). The judge concluded that questions of the underlying merit of the claim should be left until the discretion (rather than the jurisdiction) stage.