January 13, 2021 court of first instance - Orders
Claim No: CFI 029/2020
THE DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE COURTS
IN THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
BETWEEN
MS ALEXANDRA WILSON
Claimant
and
(1) SIMMONS & SIMMONS MIDDLE EAST LLP
(2) MR SYED RAZA ABBAS RIZVI
Defendants
AGREED CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER
UPON reviewing the Court file
AND UPON reading the Case Management Bundle
AND UPON reviewing the Rules of the DIFC Courts (“RDC”)
AND UPON hearing Counsel for the Claimant and Counsel for the Defendants at the Case Management Conference held before Deputy Registrar Ayesha Bin Kalban on 19 November 2020
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED BY CONSENT THAT:
AMENDMENTS TO STATEMENTS OF CASE (RDC PART 18)
1. The Defendants having consented to the Claimant's proposed Amended Particulars of Claim:
(a) The Claimant shall file and serve an Amended Particulars of Claim within 3 business days;
(b) The Defendants shall file and serve an Amended Defence within 14 business days (if so advised); and
(c) the Claimant shall file and serve an Amended Reply within 3 business days (if so advised).
2. Pursuant to RDC Rule 18.27, the Claimant shall pay the Defendants' reasonable costs of, and occasioned by, the Amended Particulars of Claim, including, but not limited to, its costs of considering the amendments and amending its Defence, such costs to be determined together with the assessment of costs in the case upon the conclusion of these proceedings.
AGREED LIST OF ISSUES
3. Adjacent to each paragraph of each witness statement, reply witness statement (if any) and skeleton argument 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.
MEDIATION
4. The parties have agreed to attend judicial mediation. The parties must within 3 business days submit to the Court any dates on which they are available to attend a one day judicial mediation to take place no later than 17 December 2020.
FURTHER CASE MANAGEMENT HEARING
5. In the event that the mediation does not result in full and final settlement on the date of the mediation, the parties must within 3 business days thereafter submit to the Court any dates on which they are available to attend a further case management hearing falling within 28 days after the mediation.
6. The Court will list a case management hearing to determine or confirm case management directions for 2 hours on a date of mutual availability and inform the parties accordingly.
SCHEDULE OF LOSS
7. The Claimant must file and serve a schedule of loss by no later than 4pm on 3 January 2021.
8. The Defendants, in the event of challenge, must file and serve a counter-schedule of loss within by no later than 4pm on 31 January 2021 providing their assessment of the Claimant's claim and detailing any objections to the sums or calculations provided in the Claimant's Schedule of Loss.
9. The Claimant must file and serve an up-to-date schedule of loss by no later than 14 days before trial indicating their losses to the start of trial and any future loss claimed beyond that date.
10. The Defendants, in the event of challenge, must file and serve an up-to-date counter-schedule of loss within 7 days thereafter.
PRODUCTION OF DOCUMENTS (RDC PART 28)
11. Standard production of documents shall be made by each party by no later than 4pm on 17 January 2021.
12. The parties shall file and serve a Request to Produce, if any, by no later than 4pm on 31 January 2021.
13. Objections to Requests to Produce, if any, shall be filed and served within 14 days thereafter and in any event by no later than 4pm on 14 February 2021.
14. 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 28 February 2021.
15. The parties shall comply with the terms of any Disclosure Order and file a Document Production Statement within 14 days thereafter and in any event by no later than 4pm on 11 March 2021.
16. Where there are no objections to a particular Request contained in a Request to Produce, documents responsive to that request shall be produced within 28 days from the date of the Request to Produce, and in any event by no later than 4pm on 28 February 2021.
WITNESS STATEMENTS (RDC PART 29)
17. Signed statements of witnesses of fact, and hearsay notices where required by the RDC shall be exchanged 4 weeks following the close of the disclosure stage, and in any event by no later than 4pm on 25 March 2021.
18. Any Witness Statement evidence in reply shall be filed and served within 4 weeks thereafter and in any event by no later than 4pm on 18 April 2021.
19. Unless otherwise ordered, Witness Statements shall stand as evidence in chief of the witness at trial.
EXPERT REPORTS (RDC PART 31)
20. If considered necessary, the Claimant has permission to rely on the written evidence of an expert psychiatrist and shall file and serve any Expert Report(s) within 3 weeks of the close of witness evidence, and in any event by no later than 4pm on 9 May 2021 in respect of the following issues:
20.1 The extent of psychological injury sustained by the Claimant as detailed in the Particulars of Claim; and
20.2 To the extent that it is within the expertise of the expert and is not preserved for the Court's determination, the extent to which the psychological injury sustained by the Claimant was caused by the Defendants.
21. The Defendants shall file and serve any Expert Report(s) in respect of those same issues within 6 weeks thereafter, and in any event by no later than 4pm on 20 June 2021.
22. The Claimant shall co-operate with such reports and investigations as the Defendants' expert considers reasonably necessary
23. The parties may raise written questions of the expert instructed by another party and shall file and serve any such questions within 3 weeks after receipt of that expert's report, and in any event by no later than 4pm on 11 July 2021.
24. The experts must reply to any questions within 5 days from the date on which they receive any questions.
25. The DIFC Courts shall, at the Pre-Trial Review, consider what directions to give concerning a meeting and discussion between experts.
PROGRESS MONITORING DATE (RDC PART 26)
26. The Progress Monitoring Date shall be listed at 2pm GST on 13 May 2021.
27. The parties shall file and serve a Progress Monitoring Information Sheet at least three clear days before progress monitoring date and in any event by no later than 4pm on 9 May 2021.
PRE-TRIAL REVIEW (RDC PART 26)
28. A pre-trial review shall be listed at 2pm UAE time to take place by no later than 4 weeks before trial with a time estimate of 30 minutes.
TRIAL BUNDLES (RDC PART 35)
29. Agreed trial bundles shall be filed and served no later than 28 days before trial.
READING LIST AND TRIAL TIMETABLE (RDC PART 35)
30. An agreed reading list for trial along with an estimate of time required for reading and an estimated timetable for trial shall be filed with the Court by the Claimant no later than 2 clear days before trial.
SKELETON ARGUMENT AND CHRONOLOGY (RDC PART 35)
31. The parties shall file and simultaneously serve Skeleton Arguments and Written Opening Statements at least 2 clear days before the start of the trial
32. The parties shall prepare an agreed Chronology of significant events crossreferenced to significant documents, pleadings and witness statements which shall be filed with the Court by the Claimant on the same date as the Claimant's Skeleton Arguments and Written Opening Statements. In the event that there are areas of disagreement, the Chronology shall include an agreed Chronology and a Chronology of events which are disputed, with the parties’ respective positions outlined therein.
TRIAL (RDC PART 35)
33. The trial of this matter shall be listed at 10am within a trial window of 20 June to 1 July 2021 with an estimated duration of 10 days.
34. Not later than 28 days after the date of this order the parties should inform each other and the Court, with reasons, of any alternative time estimate, or if any witness is unable to attend the final hearing within the dates listed.
COSTS AND OTHER MATTERS
35. Costs of the Case Management Conference are costs in the case.
36. The parties have liberty to apply.
Issued by:
Nour Hineidi
Registrar
Date of issue: 13 January 2021
At: 1pm
