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Claim No: CFI 070/2022

IN THE DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE COURTS

IN THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

BETWEEN

PARAMJIT KAHLON

Claimant

and

(1) LIBERTY STEEL GROUP LIMITED
(2) LIBERTY FE TRADE DMCC

Defendants

CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER OF H.E. JUSTICE NASSIR AL NASSER

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 Bushra Ahmed, Counsel for the Claimant, and Mohinderpal Sethi KC, Counsel for the Defendants at the Case Management Conference on 23 April 2024.

IT IS HEREBY ORDERED THAT:

Production of Documents (RDC Part 28)

1. Standard production of documents shall be made by each party by no later than 4pm on 7 June 2024.

2. The parties shall file and serve a Request to Produce¹, if any, by no later than 4pm on 5 July 2024. Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the parties from filing supplemental Requests to Produce after this date.

3. Objections to Requests to Produce, if any, may be filed and served by no later than 4pm on 19 July 2024.

4. Where there are no objections to a particular Request contained in a Request to Produce, documents responsive to that request shall be produced by no later than 4pm on 19 July 2024.

5. If a party is not satisfied with the objections to any Requests to Produce, it may apply to the Court for a Document Production Order by 4pm on 21 August 2024 using the Part 23 Form. The usual timelines under RDC 23, for progression of such an application, will apply. Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent the parties from making further applications for Document Production Orders after this date.

6. Once the Document Production Application is fully progressed, the matter will be put before the Court for determination.

7. The parties shall comply with the terms of any Disclosure Order and file a Document Production Statement within 7 days from the date of the Order.

Witness Statements (RDC Part 29)

8. Signed statements of witnesses of fact, and hearsay notices where required by the RDC, shall be exchanged by 9 October 2024.

9. Any Witness Statement evidence in reply shall be filed and served by 6 November 2024.

10. Unless otherwise ordered, Witness Statements shall stand as evidence in chief of the witness at trial.

Expert Evidence (RDC Part 31)

11. It is ordered that there will be a split trial in respect of liability and quantum pursuant to RDC 26.35(7).

12. The parties will not make any application for permission to rely on expert evidence in respect of liability. Separate directions shall be ordered in respect of any hearing on quantum.

Pre-Trial Review (RDC Part 26)

13. A pre-trial review (with a time estimate of ½ a day) shall be listed at 1pm (GST) on Monday 9 December 2024, being within the normal range of 4 to 8 weeks before trial.

Trial Bundles (RDC Part 35)

14. Agreed trial bundles shall be filed and served by the Claimant no later than 8 weeks before trial.

15. No later than 12 weeks before trial, the Claimant shall provide a draft trial bundle index to the Defendants. The Defendants shall provide their comments on the index no later than 10 weeks before trial.

Reading List and Trial Timetable (RDC Part 35)

16. 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 working days before trial.

Skeleton Argument and Chronology (RDC Part 35)

17. The Claimant shall file and serve their Skeleton Argument 4 working days before the start of trial. The Defendants shall file and serve their Skeleton Argument 2 working days before the start of trial.

18. The Claimant shall provide to the Defendants a draft Chronology of significant events cross-referenced to significant documents, pleadings and witness statements 21 days before the start of the trial. The Defendants shall provide their comments 14 days before the start of the trial. The Claimant shall file and serve the Chronology (ideally agreed) at the same time as their Skeleton Argument. 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 on liability (RDC Part 35)

19. It is ordered that there will be a split trial in respect of liability and quantum pursuant to RDC 26.35(7).

20. The trial of this matter shall be held at 1pm (GST) on 3 February 2025 with an estimated duration of 4 to 5 days to determine liability only.

21. Quantum is to be determined at a separate hearing and the Court shall give directions after judgment on liability.

22. Costs of the Case Management Conference shall be costs in the case.

23. The parties shall have liberty to apply.

Issued by:
Hayley Norton
Assistant Registrar
Date of issue: 13 May 2024
At: 9am