Cases - Jackson v Marley Davenport Ltd
Record details
- Name
- Jackson v Marley Davenport Ltd
- Date
- [2004]
- Citation
- EWCA Civ 1225
- Legislation
- Keywords
- Expert witness - Civil Procedure Rules
- Summary
-
The claimant sued his defendant employer in a personal injury claim, following a fall from a ladder. The claimant's expert was instructed to prepare a report. When a report was subsequently served on the defendants they concluded that the expert's opinion had changed and obtained an order for disclosure of the first report. However, this was reversed on appeal and the Court of Appeal upheld the claimant's position. The defendant argued that under CPR 35.13, the first report ought to be disclosed where an expert's view had 'developed' after fresh evidence. The Court of Appeal rejected this argument:
'There can be no doubt that, if an expert makes a report for the purpose of a party's legal advisors being able to give legal advice to their client, or for discussion in a conference of a party's legal advisers, such a report is the subject matter of litigation privilege at the time it is made. It has come into existence for the purposes of litigation. It is common for drafts of expert reports to be circulated among a party's advisers before a final report is prepared for exchange with the other side. Such initial reports are privileged.'
(See Carlson v Townsend, which was applied in the above case.)