Claim No: CFI-002-2016
THE DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE COURTS
IN THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
BETWEEN
DAS REAL ESTATE OWNED AND REPRESENTED BY MUSSABEH SALEM MUSSABEH HUMAID AL MUHAIRI
and
NATIONAL BANK OF ABU DHABI PJSC
ORDER OF H.E. JUSTICE SHAMLAN AL SAWALEHI
UPON reviewing the Court file
AND UPON reviewing the Case Management Bundle
AND UPON hearing Counsel for the Claimant and Counsel for the Defendant at a Case Management Conference on 14 June 2016
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED BY CONSENT THAT:
Defendant’s Factual Witnesses
1.The Defendant shall provide the names of those factual witnesses it intends to call to give oral evidence at trial, or otherwise to explain why it is unable to do so, no later than 4pm on 5 July 2016.
Claimant’s Application
2. The Claimant shall file and serve any application that certain issues of liability be determined by way of preliminary hearing by no later than 4pm on 12 July 2016.
3. The Defendant shall respond to any application made by the Claimant that certain issues of liability be determined by way of preliminary hearing within the following 28 days and in any event by no later than 4pm on 9 August 2016.
4. The Claimant shall reply to any response submitted by the Defendant to any application made by the Claimant that certain issues of liability be determined by way of preliminary hearing within the following 14 days and in any event by no later than 4pm on 23 August 2016.
5. A hearing of any application made by the Claimant that certain issues of liability be determined by way of preliminary hearing shall be listed as soon as practicable thereafter.
Agreed List of Issues
6. Adjacent to each paragraph of each witness statement, reply witness statement (if any), expert report, supplementary expert report, joint expert report and skeleton argument and written opening statement shall be inserted the issue or issues to which that paragraph relates as numbered in the Agreed List of Issues, in order for the Court to understand to which of the agreed issues that paragraph relates.
Production of Documents
7. Standard production of documents shall be made by each party on or before 4pm on 26 July 2016. [RDC 28.6]
8. The Parties shall file and serve any Request to Produce on or before 4pm on 9 August 2016. [RDC 28.16]
9. Objections to Requests to Produce (if any) shall be filed and served by the Parties within 14 days thereafter and in any event by no later than 4pm on 23 August 2016. [RDC 28. 26]
10. Where there are no objections to a particular Request contained in a Request to Produce, the Parties shall produce documents responsive to that request within 14 days from the date of the Request to Produce and in any event by no later than 4pm on 6 September 2016. [RDC 28.20]
11. Where objections to any Requests to Produce have been made, the Court shall determine those objections and shall make any disclosure order within the following 14 days and in any event by no later than 4pm on 6 September 2016. [RDC 28.38]
12. The Parties shall comply with the terms of any disclosure order within 28 days thereafter and in any event by no later than 4pm on 4 October 2016. [RDC 28.42]
Witness Statements
13. Signed statements of witnesses of fact, and hearsay notices where required by RDC 29.2 and 29.103 to 29.105 inclusive shall be filed and served by the Parties by the later of 4pm on 13 December 2016 or 10 weeks following the close of the disclosure stage.
14. Any witness statement in reply shall be filed and served by the later of 4pm on 10 January 2017 or 4 weeks following the exchange of witness statements.
15. Unless otherwise ordered, witness statements shall stand as evidence in chief of the witness at trial.
Expert Reports
16. The Claimant shall file and serve any Expert Report(s) [RDC Part 31] in respect of the following issues by the later of 4pm on 31 January 2017 or 3 weeks following the close of witness evidence:
(a) delay to the Works and Project completion;
(b) additional funding required to complete the Project (paragraph 49 Particulars of Claim); and
(c) valuation of (i) the Claimant’s lost value of the Project (paragraph 60.1 Particulars of Claim); and (ii) the Claimant’s sale costs (paragraph 60.2 Particulars of Claim).
17. The Defendant shall file and serve any Expert Report(s) in respect of those same issues by the later of 4pm on 14 February 2017 or 2 weeks following service of the Claimant’s Expert Report(s).
18. Supplemental Expert Reports shall be filed and served by the later of 4pm on 7 March 2017 or 3 weeks following service of the Defendant’s Expert Report(s).
19. The Expert(s) appointed in respect of each issue shall meet together by the later of 4pm on 21 March 2017 or 2 weeks following service of the Supplemental Expert Reports.
20. Joint expert reports setting out areas of agreement and disagreement shall be filed and served by the later of 4pm on 4 April 2017 or 2 weeks following the last of the meetings between the experts referred to in paragraph 19
Pre-Trial Review
21. A pre-trial review shall be listed to take place on 30 May 2017 after the close of expert evidence referred to in paragraph 20 above. [RDC 26.76 and 26.77 – PTR normally takes place between 8 and 14 weeks before trial date]
Trial Bundles
22. Agreed trial bundles shall be completed in accordance with Part 35 of the RDC and lodged by no later than 2 weeks before trial. [RDC 35.34]
Reading List
23. A single reading list approved by all parties’ legal representatives for trial shall be lodged with the Registry by no later than 2 days before fixed trial date, together with an estimate of time required for reading. [RDC 35.51]
Skeleton Argument, Opening Statements and Chronology
24. Skeleton Arguments and Written Opening Statements shall be served on all other parties and lodged with the Court by no later than 1pm five clear days before the start of trial for the Claimant and by no later than 1pm two clear days before the start of trial for the Defendant. [RDC 35.62]
25. The Parties shall prepare and file a Chronology of significant events cross-referenced to significant documents, pleadings and witness statements to be agreed, insofar as possible, by no later than 1 week before trial. [RDC 35.64]
Trial
26. The trial of this matter shall commence on 9 July 2017 with an estimated duration of 5-10 days.
27. Costs in the case.
28. Liberty to apply.
Issued by:
Natasha Bakirci
Assistant Registrar
Date of issue: 22 June 2016
At: 2pm
