Cases - Brown v Bennett

Record details

Name

Brown & Anor v Bennett & Ors

Date

[2001]; [2001]

Citation

EWCA Civ 1352; Times Law Reports 21 Nov, ChD

Legislation

Supreme Court Act 1981

Keywords

Expert witness

Summary

The court set aside a witness summons issued against an expert witness by claimants who could no longer afford to pay her fees. The court accepted the proposition in Phipson on Evidence (15th edn, 2001) paras 37–49 that

'an unwilling expert witness will, save in an exceptional case, be released from the operation of a subpoena'.

The court was not persuaded that the facts of the case were 'exceptional'; the claimants were simply trying to avoid paying the fees of the expert witness by seeking an order to compel her attendance.