Pre-action disclosure

A summary of the procedure for making an application for pre-action disclosure under CPR 31.16. This note outlines the criteria that must be satisfied for the court to exercise its discretion to make an order for pre-action disclosure. It also considers the relevant case law (including the leading case, Black v Sumitomo [2001] EWCA Civ 1819) and briefly highlights other routes for pre-action disclosure.

Disclosure in the B&PCs: CPR 31.16 continues to apply for cases subject to PD 57AD "Disclosure in the Business and Property Courts". PD 57AD took effect on 1 October 2022, implementing, on a permanent basis, procedures that applied, from 1 January 2019 until 1 October 2022, under the Disclosure Pilot Scheme (under what was PD 51U). For details of our content considering the approach to disclosure under PD 57AD (and its predecessor, PD 51U), see Disclosure in the B&PCs: toolkit.