Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Ltd v Director of the Serious Fraud Office & Ors [2024] EWHC 1244 (Comm) (25 April 2024)

Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Ltd v Director of the Serious Fraud Office & Ors [2024] EWHC 1244 (Comm) (25 April 2024)

ENRC is entitled to a reasonably precise description of classes of documents expected to be held on destroyed devices, but not to the over-prescriptive witness statement sought; further disclosure orders must be reasonable, proportionate, and necessary, and most requests were overbroad or not justified under PD 57AD or paragraph 18.

Citation
[2024] EWHC 1244 (Comm)
Parties
Claimant: Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Limited; First Defendant: The Director of the Serious Fraud Office; Second Defendant: John Gibson; Third Defendant: Anthony Puddick
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
25 April 2024
Procedural Posture
Commercial Court Disclosure Application / Ruling on Disclosure Applications
Outcome
Application granted in part, majority of requests refused
Legal Topics
Extended Disclosure, Document Preservation, Mobile Device Data, Disclosure Obligations, Witness Statements
Civil Procedure Disclosure Commercial Law Extended Disclosure Document Preservation Mobile Device Data Disclosure Obligations Witness Statements

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Parties

Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation Limited

Claimant

The Director of the Serious Fraud Office

First Defendant

John Gibson

Second Defendant

Anthony Puddick

Third Defendant

Procedural Posture

Commercial Court Disclosure Application / Ruling on Disclosure Applications

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Adequacy of disclosure regarding destroyed mobile phone data
  2. 2 Obligation to describe destroyed documents under PD 57AD
  3. 3 Scope of disclosure for custodians' devices

Ratio Decidendi

ENRC is entitled to a reasonably precise description of classes of documents expected to be held on destroyed devices, but not to the over-prescriptive witness statement sought; further disclosure orders must be reasonable, proportionate, and necessary, and most requests were overbroad or not justified under PD 57AD or paragraph 18.

Court Disposition

Application granted in part, majority of requests refused

Orders

  • SFO to provide a reasonably precise description of classes of documents expected to be held on destroyed devices, by witness statement or equivalent disclosure statement, by 31 May 2024
  • Manual re-search of C and E custodians' devices for relevant data, including expanded journalist and intraoffice communications