March 21, 2022 court of first instance - Orders
Claim No. CFI 087/2021
THE DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE COURTS
IN THE COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE
BETWEEN
AS WORLD GROUP HOLDING LIMITED
Claimant
and
SAJID BARKAT ALI BARKAT
Defendant
CASE MANAGEMENT ORDER OF REGISTRAR NOUR HINEIDI
UPON reviewing the Court file
AND UPON reading the Case Management Bundle
AND UPON hearing counsel at the Case Management Conferences held on 14 March 2022 and 16 March 2022
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED BY CONSENT THAT:
Production of Documents
1. Standard production of documents to be made by each party by 4pm on Friday, 8 April 2022.
2. The Parties are to file and serve any Requests to Produce1 by 4pm on Monday, 25 April 2022
3. Objections to Requests to Produce (if any) shall be served and filed on the Court’s eRegistry portal within 21 days thereafter, and in any event, by 4pm on Monday, 16 May 2022.
4. Where there are no objections to a particular request contained in a Request to Produce, responsive documents to that request shall be produced within 28 days from the date of the Request to Produce, and in any event, by 4pm on Monday, 23 May 2022.
5. If a party is not satisfied with the objections to any Request(s) to Produce2 , it may apply to the Court for a Document Production Order by making use of the Part 23 Form (the “DP Application”). The usual timelines under RDC 23, for the progression of such an application, will apply.
6. Once the DP 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 14 days from the date of the Disclosure Order.
Witness Statements
8. Signed witness statements (of fact), and hearsay notices where required, are to be exchanged within 6 weeks following the close of the ‘Production of Documents’ phase, and in any event by 4pm on Friday, 29 July 2022.
9. Any Witness Statement evidence in reply is to be served and filed within 3 weeks thereafter, and in any event, by 4pm on Friday, 19 August 2022.
10. Unless otherwise ordered, Witness Statements are to stand as evidence in chief of the witness at trial.
Expert Reports
11. Both Parties are to serve and file any Expert Report(s) within 4 weeks of the close of the ‘Witness Statements’ stage, and in any event, by no later than 4pm on Friday, 16 September 2022.
12. The Court shall, at the ‘Pre-Trial Review’ stage, consider what directions to give concerning a meeting and discussion between experts.
Pre-Trial Review
13. A pre-trial review is to be listed for Friday, 30 September 2022.
Trial Bundles
14. Agreed trial bundles are to be completed in accordance with Part 35 of the RDC and filed with the Court by no later than 5 days before the start of the trial, and in any event, by 4pm on Wednesday, 26 October 2022.
Reading List and Timetable
15. A single reading list approved by the parties’ legal representatives together with an estimated timetable for trial are to be filed with Court by no later than 5 days before the trial date, together with an estimate of time required for the reading.
Skeleton Arguments, Opening Statements and Chronology
16. Skeleton Arguments and Written Opening Statements are to be filed and served by way of simultaneous exchange, 5 days before the start of the trial, and in any event, by no later than 4pm on Wednesday, 26 October 2022.
17. The Parties are to prepare a Chronology of significant events cross-referenced to significant documents, pleadings and witness statements (to be agreed, insofar as possible) and to file the same with the Court by no later than 5 days before the start of the trial, and in any event, by 4pm on Wednesday, 26 October 2022.
Trial
18. The trial of this matter is to take place not before Monday, 31 October 2022 with an estimated duration of 3 days.
19. Costs in the Case.
20. Liberty to apply.
Issued by:
Nour Hineidi
Registrar
Date of Issue: 21 March 2022
Time: 11:30am
