October 20, 2021 court of first instance - Orders
Claim No: CFI 052/2021
THE DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE COURTS
IN THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
BETWEEN
EAST FISH PROCESSING LLC
Claimant
and
(1) ECOLOG INTERNATIONAL FZE
(2) ECOLOG INTERNATIONAL
Defendants
CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER OF THE REGISTRAR NOUR HINEIDI
UPON reviewing the Court file
AND UPON reading the Case Management Bundle
AND UPON reviewing the Rules of the DIFC Courts (the “RDC”)
AND UPON hearing Counsel for the Claimant and Counsel for the Defendants at the Case Management Conference held before Registrar Nour Hineidi on 14 October 2021
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:
Agreed List of Issues
1. 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.
Production of Documents (RDC Part 28)
2. Standard production of documents shall be made by each party by 4pm on 11 November 2021.
3. The parties shall file and serve a Request to Produce, if any, by 4pm on 25 November 2021.
4. Objections to Requests to Produce, if any, shall be filed and served by 4pm on 2 December 2021.
5. Where objections to any Requests to Produce have been made, the Court shall determine those objections and shall make any disclosure order as soon as practicable, by 16 December 2021.
6. The parties shall comply with the terms of any Disclosure Order and file a Document Production Statement by 4pm on 13 January 2022.
7. Where there are no objections to a particular Request contained in a Request to Produce, documents responsive to that request shall be produced by 4pm on 13 January 2022.
Witness Statements (RDC Part 29)
8. Signed statements of witnesses of fact, and hearsay notices where required by the RDC shall be filed and simultaneously exchanged by 4pm on 10 February 2022.
9. Any Witness Statement evidence in reply shall be filed and served by 4pm on 3 March 2022.
10. Unless otherwise ordered, Witness Statements shall stand as evidence in chief of the witness at trial.
Expert Witnesses (RDC Part 31)
11. The parties have permission to adduce expert evidence in relation to the seafood products provided by the Claimant.
12. The parties shall give notice to each other and the Court by 4pm on 3 March 2022 of the name of their expert in the field referred to above.
13. Any expert report to be relied on by either of the parties is to be exchanged by 4pm on 24 March 2022.
14. Each of the parties shall have permission to direct written questions to the other parties' expert by 4pm on 7 April 2022.
15. The respective experts shall by 4pm on 21 April 2022 hold discussions for the purposes of (a) identifying the issues, if any, between them and (b) where possible, reaching agreement on those issues.
16. The experts shall, by 4pm on 5 May 2022, prepare and file a joint statement identifying the issues on which they are agreed and those issues on which they are not agreed and the reasons for such disagreement.
Progress Monitoring Date (RDC Part 26)
17. The Progress Monitoring Date shall be listed at 10am on 12 April 2022.
18. 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 4pm on 7 April 2022.
Trial Bundles (RDC Part 35)
19. Agreed trial bundles shall be filed and served no later than 2 weeks before trial and in any event by 4pm on 12 May 2022.
Reading List and Trial Timetable (RDC Part 35)
20. 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 four clear days before trial and in any event by 4pm on 19 May 2022.
Skeleton Argument and Chronology (RDC Part 35)
21. Skeleton Arguments and Written Opening Statements shall be filed and served by simultaneous exchange, four clear days before the start of trial for the Claimant and in any event by 4pm on 19 May 2022.
22. The parties shall prepare an agreed Chronology of significant events cross-referenced to significant documents, pleadings and witness statements which shall be filed with the Court by the Claimant by 4pm on 19 May 2022. 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)
23. The trial of this matter shall be listed at 10am on 25 May 2022 and at 10am on 26 May 2022, with an estimated duration of 1.5 days.
24. Costs of the Case Management Conference are costs in the case.
25. The parties shall have liberty to apply.
Issued by:
Nour Hineidi
Registrar
Date of Issue: 20 October 2021
At: 4pm
