Hannon v. Commissioners of Public Works [2001] IEHC 59 (4th April, 2001)

Hannon v. Commissioners of Public Works [2001] IEHC 59 (4th April, 2001)

Further and better discovery is only ordered where the court is satisfied, based on the pleadings and discovered documents, that additional documents are relevant to the issues to be tried. The court must avoid granting discovery for the purpose of a general trawl or fishing expedition and must consider the potential oppressiveness of discovery requests.

Citation
[2001] IEHC 59
Parties
Plaintiff: Plaintiff (Engineer); Defendant: First Defendant (Employer); Defendant: Other Defendants
Jurisdiction
Ireland
Procedural Posture
Civil / Motion for Further and Better Discovery
Outcome
Partially granted
Legal Topics
Discovery, Grievance Procedures, Negligence, Breach of Duty, Breach of Contract, Constitutional Rights
Employment Law Civil Procedure Personal Injury Discovery Grievance Procedures Negligence Breach of Duty Breach of Contract +1 more

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Parties

Plaintiff (Engineer)

Plaintiff

First Defendant (Employer)

Defendant

Other Defendants

Defendant

Procedural Posture

Civil / Motion for Further and Better Discovery

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether further and better discovery should be ordered for specific classes of documents
  2. 2 Relevance of documents to the pleaded issues
  3. 3 Limits of discovery to prevent fishing expeditions

Ratio Decidendi

Further and better discovery is only ordered where the court is satisfied, based on the pleadings and discovered documents, that additional documents are relevant to the issues to be tried. The court must avoid granting discovery for the purpose of a general trawl or fishing expedition and must consider the potential oppressiveness of discovery requests.

Court Disposition

Partially granted

Orders

  • Discovery ordered for documents in paragraphs 9, 10, 11, 14, 15 (if they exist), 20, 28, 29(2), 29(3), 29(4), and 29(5) of the Affidavit of Eric Bradshaw, subject to privilege and existence.
  • Discovery refused for documents in paragraphs 5-8, 12-13, 16-19, 21-27, and 30.