ALEXANDER NIX v EMERDATA LIMITED & ANOR.

ALEXANDER NIX v EMERDATA LIMITED & ANOR.

The English court has no jurisdiction to make orders for third party disclosure against a foreign non-party resident outside the jurisdiction; the proper method is via letter of request, and CPR 6.39 and gateway 20(a) do not provide a gateway for such applications.

Parties
Claimant: Alexander Nix; Defendant/applicant: Emerdata Limited; Respondent: Schulte Roth and Zabel LLP
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
18 February 2022
Procedural Posture
Commercial Court Application / Ruling on Permission to Serve Third Party Disclosure Application Out of Jurisdiction
Outcome
application dismissed
Legal Topics
Third Party Disclosure, Service Out of Jurisdiction, Sovereignty, Letter of Request Regime
Civil Procedure International Law Third Party Disclosure Service Out of Jurisdiction Sovereignty Letter of Request Regime

Case Brief

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Parties

Alexander Nix

Claimant

Emerdata Limited

Defendant/applicant

Schulte Roth and Zabel LLP

Respondent

Procedural Posture

Commercial Court Application / Ruling on Permission to Serve Third Party Disclosure Application Out of Jurisdiction

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the English court has jurisdiction to order service out of the jurisdiction on a foreign non-party for third party disclosure
  2. 2 Whether CPR 6.39 and gateway 20(a) permit such service
  3. 3 Whether the application circumvents the letter of request regime

Ratio Decidendi

The English court has no jurisdiction to make orders for third party disclosure against a foreign non-party resident outside the jurisdiction; the proper method is via letter of request, and CPR 6.39 and gateway 20(a) do not provide a gateway for such applications.

Court Disposition

application dismissed

Orders

  • Permission to serve third party disclosure application out of jurisdiction is refused.