Commercial Court Decides That New Practice Direction In Relation To Trial Witness Statements In Business & Property Courts Has Not Changed Law On Admissibility Of Evidence

• Published date: 12 July 2021
• Subject Matter: Corporate/Commercial Law, Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Corporate and Company Law, Contracts and Commercial Law, Trials & Appeals & Compensation
• Law Firm: Quadrant Chambers
• Author: Mr Stewart Chirnside

MAD Atelier International BV v Manes [2021] EWHC 1899 (Comm)

Yesterday, Sir Michael Burton GBE handed down judgment dismissing an application by the Defendant ("Mr Manes") to strike out parts of the Claimant's ("MAD International") witness statements on the grounds that they contained inadmissible opinion evidence.

The application was made under paragraph 5.2(1) of PD 57AC which gives the Court the power to strike out all or part of a trial witness statement which fails to comply with the new Practice Direction. The decision is of interest because it is the first reported judgment considering the Court's powers under the new Practice Direction and it also contains an overview of the authorities in relation to the admissibility of non-expert opinion evidence.

In 2015, MAD International and Mr Manes (amongst others) entered into a joint venture to develop an international franchise of restaurants under the "L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon" brand. MAD International alleges that Mr Manes fraudulently induced it to enter into a transaction which led to the termination of the joint venture agreement and claims damages for fraud and loss of profits from the joint venture.

Mr Manes applied to strike out parts of MAD International's supplemental...