Ocean On Land Technology (UK) Limited & Anor v Richard Land & Ors

Ocean On Land Technology (UK) Limited & Anor v Richard Land & Ors

The court held that evidence subject to the without prejudice rule is inadmissible unless it falls within a recognised exception, which must be strictly construed. No exception (unambiguous impropriety, waiver, interpretation exception) was established for the disputed materials. Subjective opinions and pre-contractual negotiations are inadmissible for contractual construction. Certain prejudicial and irrelevant passages in witness statements were ordered to be removed. Applications for reply evidence and exclusion of evidence on relevance grounds were dismissed where not clearly justified. Costs were reserved to the trial judge.

Parties
Claimant: Ocean on Land Technology (UK) Limited; Claimant: Caribbean Sustainable Fisheries Corp; Defendant: Richard Land; Defendant: Dennis Gowland; Defendant: Northbay Innovations Limited
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
11 October 2024
Procedural Posture
Intellectual Property and Contract Dispute / Interlocutory Judgment on Evidentiary Applications Prior to Trial
Outcome
Applications to strike out evidence granted in part; applications for reply evidence dismissed; costs reserved to trial judge.
Legal Topics
Breach of Contract, Patent Infringement, Trade Mark Infringement, Admissibility of Evidence, Without Prejudice Rule, Expert Evidence, Witness Statement Management
Contract Law Intellectual Property Law Civil Procedure Breach of Contract Patent Infringement Trade Mark Infringement Admissibility of Evidence Without Prejudice Rule +2 more

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Parties

Ocean on Land Technology (UK) Limited

Claimant

Caribbean Sustainable Fisheries Corp

Claimant

Richard Land

Defendant

Dennis Gowland

Defendant

Northbay Innovations Limited

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Intellectual Property and Contract Dispute / Interlocutory Judgment on Evidentiary Applications Prior to Trial

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether certain paragraphs and exhibits in trial witness statements should be struck out for being inadmissible, irrelevant, or improperly containing without prejudice or expert evidence
  2. 2 Whether parties may serve reply evidence in response to alleged misrepresentation or mischaracterisation
  3. 3 Scope and application of exceptions to the without prejudice rule (unambiguous impropriety, waiver, interpretation exception)

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that evidence subject to the without prejudice rule is inadmissible unless it falls within a recognised exception, which must be strictly construed. No exception (unambiguous impropriety, waiver, interpretation exception) was established for the disputed materials. Subjective opinions and pre-contractual negotiations are inadmissible for contractual construction. Certain prejudicial and irrelevant passages in witness statements were ordered to be removed. Applications for reply evidence and exclusion of evidence on relevance grounds were dismissed where not clearly justified. Costs were reserved to the trial judge.

Court Disposition

Applications to strike out evidence granted in part; applications for reply evidence dismissed; costs reserved to trial judge.

Orders

  • Certain paragraphs and exhibits in Defendants’ witness statements to be removed as specified.
  • Claimants’ conditional application for reply evidence dismissed.