Sending copies to me of documents already sent out (or received) in litigation

If you are involved in litigation in a court or other tribunal you will, during the litigation process, as well as communicating with the other side e.g. by email, have sent "documents" to the other side and/or the tribunal. A few of those "documents" with be documents the tribunal has directed you and the other side to create (or arrange to be created) specially for the purposes of the litigation, such as a Statement of Case, or witness statements, or a disclosure list, but most of the documents are likely to be copies of "evidential" documents the majority of which were already in existance before proceedings started - things such as photos, deeds, invoices, letters and emails which are evidence having a bearing on what the dispute is about. You need to send to me copies of both types of document which you have sent out in the litigation, each document as a separate file. 

And you need to send me, again as separate files, any documents you may have received from the other side during the litigation process so far.

When a party sends out a document which is created specially for the purpose of the litigation - e.g. a statement of some kind - it may well refer to evidential documents and copies of those documents referred to may accompany it. I need each document as a separate file so that I can arrange them in the order I require for the work I do (when the case gets to the stage where a "Bundle" of documents is being prepared for the final hearing you will need all the documents separate so you have to do this at some point anyway). 

Filenames for the Document Copies you send me

I need to be able to cross-refer documents to the statements which mention them, so you need to include in the filename of each evidential document the reference used for it in any statement.

For example if the Respondent's Statement of Case lists key documents which it refers to from 1 to 10, you should include the appropriate number in the filename of each key document like this:

Rsp-2 Conveyance 28-10-1971.pdf    

The Respondent's Statement of Case itself would be named 

Rsp. Statement of Case.pdf

(note the full stop)

The Applicant's Statement of Case would be named App.    Statement of Case.pdf and the filename of each document listed in it would include its number like this  App-12 Deed 15-05-1980.pdf 

Key documents are normally sent with a Statement of Case and then, a little later, the remainder of the relevant documents each party has are sent, usually accompanied by a numbered list of the documents - "disclosure list". The Respondent's Disclosure List itself would be named:

R- Disclosure List.pdf 

And each document accompanying it and listed in it would be named like this example:

R-30 Survey Report.pdf

The Applicant's disclosure list would be named A-    Disclosure List and the filenames of each accompanying document would commence with A- followed by the document number from the disclosure list.

It is important to include A- or R- because I need to know which party has brought the document to the litigation, so if a Disclosure List is unnumbered you should  still include A- or R- but without a number.

If, after sending out the main Disclosure List, a party sends out a supplementary list with extra documents, it would be named R- Supplementary Disclosure List.pdf  

If a document sent with a disclosure list is the same as a document previously sent out you can send me a single copy containing two references e.g.

R-31   A-37   Deed 15-05-1980.pdf 

If a case has been referred to the First-tier Tribunal by H. M. Land Registry, then the Land Registry will have produced a Case Summary at the point of referral. Use the abbreviation LRCS. (note the full stop) in the filename for a Case Summary. If there have been two or more applications to the Land Registry (e.g. an adverse possession application and a right of way application) and they are being referred to the tribunal at the same time because they concern the same land, or overlapping land, add an abbreviation after LRCS so that each Case Summary has a unique prefix

LRCS-AP. Adverse Possession application

LRCS-ROW. Right of way application

(note the full stop)

If a document you have sent out is referred to in a numbered list within a Land Registry Case Summary, name the document with the prefix for the Case Summary followed by a hyphen and the number of the document in the list, as well as with its other appropriate prefix. 

R-38 LRCS-AP-1    Conveyance 28-10-1971.pdf

R-40 LRCS-AP-2    Survey Report.pdf

If a witness statement refers to a document with an exhibit mark such as Exhibit JJS2 then that reference should be put in the filename of the document 

JJS2   Conveyance 28-10-1971.pdf

Providing the exhibit mark is in the normal format used for exhibit marks - the witness's three initials followed by a number - you don't need to include the actual word Exhibit in the filename as it will be obvious from the format that it is an exhibit reference.

The witness statement itself should be named starting with the party which sent the witness statement out followed by the name of the witness like this:

App John Smith WS

Rsp Peter Jones WS

Sometimes the same witness provides more than one statement in which case their second statement would be named like this  App     John Smith WS 2nd

You may have sent out documents in the litigation as JPGs or HEICs (in the case of photos), individual PDFs (in the case of paper documents you have scanned in), or you might have sent them as a single large PDF containing copies of all of the documents (not recommended but you might have done), or you might have sent several PDFs each containing a small group of documents of a similar type (again not recommended), and likewise the other side may have sent documents to you in different forms, but the copies of the documents you send to me must all be individual files. They can be individual PDF files or JPGs, HEICs, EML or MSG files but they must be individual files so if, for example, you have received a large PDF from the other side containing a number of documents you will need to extract the documents into individual PDF files to send to me.

Documents sent out in the litigation by each side are normally sent out at the statements of case stage with a list, and at the subsequent disclosure of documents stage, with a list, so each document should have a reference but if, for some reason, you sent out a document, or the other side sent out a document, without a list, or there was a list but the document for some reason was missed off the list, please put just A or R at the start of the filename when sending me the document so that I know which side sent it out. 

Summary

Each document you email to me must be a separate file and it should have a filename which includes the following:

• As explained above you should start the filename with an identifier showing whether it is a document you have sent out in the litigation or a document the other side has sent to you in the litigation. If the document is referred to in a statement, or case summary, or disclosure list or the like then the filename of the copy of the document you send to me should also include the references. Follow that with...

•  the concise name of the document. The name can be very brief, usually just a one or two words such as Conveyance 28 Oct 1971. For example - R-45    LRCS-2    Conveyance 28-10-1971.pdf  

• If the document is a statement of some kind from a witness use WS for a witness statement, SOT for a statement of truth, SD for a statutory declaration, or AD for an affidavit (or ISS for an "informal signed statement" which does not meet the rules to be classified as a WS, SOT, SD or AD and is more of a "to whom it may concern" letter which may have been proffered as a substitute in the hope it might be accepted) immediately after the forename and surname of the witness who signed the statement.

Note about digital photos

For digital photos, after the prefix the original filename is needed for use as a unique reference because there may be more than one photo taken on the same date. The filename does not need to contain a description of the subject but you can add the word "Photo" if you like. e.g.

R-22 Photo IMG_1234.jpg

When individual photos are exhibited by a witness they will generally each be a separate PDF each with its own exhibit label. 

JJS5 Photo IMG_1234.pdf

But, apart from witness exhibits, every digital photo sent out - e.g. with a statement of case or disclosure list - should be in its original native form as a JPG (or HEIC). And even photos which are eventually exhibited by a witness should have previously been sent out  - either with a statement of case or disclosure list - so should at some stage have been sent out in JPG or HEIC form as well.

If you originally sent out a photo with a statement of case or disclosure list as a PDF copy containing a single uncropped image with no annotations or comments, please send me the JPG or HEIC file named in the standard way

A-25 IMG_2145.jpg

and in this case don't need to send the PDF as well. 

But if you can't immediately find the JPG/HEIC you can send me the PDF which you sent out instead to save time, but name it with "PDF copy" in the name to indicate that there is (or was originally) a JPG/HEIC which is not currently available like this:

A-25 IMG_2145 PDF copy.pdf

Please keep looking for the JPG/HEIC and send it to me when you find it.

If the other side has sent out copies of digital photos in PDF form only, you might at some point want to ask the other side for the JPG/HEICs but you don't need to delay consulting me waiting for the JPG/HEICs to arrive from the other side: send me the PDFs sent to you by the other side if JPGs/HEICs are not immediately available.

Note about multi-document references in lists in statements of case

You might come across a case where a "document" referred to in, and listed at the bottom of, a statement of case, actually consists of more than one document e.g.:- 

15 Invoices various dates

This is bad practice but it does sometimes happen. You might have done this yourself if you did not know it was bad practice. In cases such as this you need to  send me each individual document as a separate file named e.g. 

App-15-p1 Invoice.pdf 

App-15-p2 Invoice.pdf  

App-15-p4 Invoice.pdf  

so that I can arrange them in the appropriate position for the work I need to do. In the above example the multidoc PDF contains three invoices, one invoice on the first page, a two page invoice starting on the second page, and a further invoice starting on the fourth page.

In any cases like this where it is you have used multi-document references, and you have not, so far, sent to the other side the individual separate documents, when sending the separate files to me add -tbso which stands for To Be Sent Out to remind you that you need to send out those separate files (when you send them out to the other side remove the -tbso).

App-15-p1-tbso Invoice.pdf 

App-15-p2-tbso Invoice.pdf  

App-15-p4-tbso Invoice.pdf  

As well as sending me the individual documents you should also send me the multi-document PDF named e.g. 

App-15-multidoc Invoices various dates.pdf

as I need to be able to see, when reading the statement of case, exactly what the maker of the statement had in front of them when making the statement.

It is possible that in the case of small documents such as till receipts, there might actually be more than one document per page. In this case you would send me each individual document as a separate file named e.g. 

Rsp-23-p1 Receipt.pdf 

Rsp-23-p2A Receipt.pdf  

Rsp-23-p2B Receipt.pdf  

Rsp-23-p3 Receipt.pdf  

In the above example the multidoc PDF contains four receipts, one on the first page, two on the second page and one on the third page. Also send me the multidoc PDF

Rsp-23-multidoc Receipts various dates

Note about multi-document exhibits

Similarly you could come across a case where a witness statement exhibit actually consists of more than one document and you should follow the same procedure as above e.g. send me the multi-document PDF named e.g. 

JJS25-multidoc Invoices various dates.pdf

and also send me each individual document as a separate file named e.g. 

JJS25-p1 Invoice.pdf 

JJS25-p2 Invoice.pdf  

JJS25-p4 Invoice.pdf  

Note about multi-document references on a disclosure list

You might find that some entries on a disclosure list are actually for more than one document. Again this is bad practice but if it has been done you should send me the individual documents named as outlined above e.g.

R-40-p1 Receipt.pdf 

R-40-p2A Receipt.pdf  

R-40-p2B Receipt.pdf  

R-40-p3 Receipt.pdf  

But in this case there should be no need to send me the multidoc as well because the disclosure list is not a statement but merely a list.

Note about recently annotated copies

When people are preparing for litigation they sometimes make copies of documents and make notes and annotations on the copies when in the process of sorting them into those which have a bearing on the case and those which do not. But the copies of documents which are sent out in the litigation process should be unannotated copies. Any relevant representations or comments which a litigant may wish to make during litigation about a document can be made at the appropriate time in the litigation process but the documents themselves presented as evidence in the litigation must be the unannotated original copies. 

(Of course documents might have been annotated in the ordinary course of events in the past - someone receiving a letter in the post might have made notes on it soon after they received it and that is fine. In this case the annotated document is in a sense an "original" because it contains words or markings written by the recipient at the time (or perhaps later but not recently as part of preparing for litigation). And an unmarked copy of the letter - if an unmarked copy has been kept by either sender or recipient - is also an "original" - a distinct separate document really.)

Having said that documents should not be annotated before being sent out in the litigation, when a statement of case is sent out at the start of litigation, together with copies of key documents, it is sometimes helpful if the person writing the statement marks, on a copy of a photo, some feature, by drawing a red circle round it to clearly identify the particular feature they are referring to in a paragraph of their statement. This is then included in the key documents which accompany the statement of case. However if this is done the maker of the statement must (a) identify the copy photo with the annotation they have made, making clear that the annotation is not original but that they have added it in order to identify to the reader exactly what they are referring to in a particular paragraph of the statement, and (b.) state that an original unannotated copy is also being provided as one of the key documents which accompany the statement of case and identify that unannotated copy. It is usual for the reference number of the annotated copy to be the same as the unannotated copy but with the addition of a lower-case "a". For example.

"A photograph of the machine which I took on 3 August 2023 accompanies this statement of case (App7). I have marked on another copy of that photo (App7a), with a red circle, the control box on the side of the machine which had the amber warning light showing..."    

Similarly when a witness makes a witness statement because they will be giving evidence in tribunal proceedings, they might exhibit a copy of a document - particularly a photo or plan - which they have annotated as part of the process of making a statement in order to make clear e.g. what part of the photo or plan they are referring to in a paragraph of their statement, but if this is done (a.) they should make clear that they have added the annotation for the purposes of the witness statement and (b.) they should also exhibit a copy of the document without the recent annotation.

Please make sure that you always send me the original unannotated copies. Of course if you have already sent out some annotated copies I need to see those as well but I always need to see each original unannotated copy even if you have, as yet, only sent out an annotated copy.

In you are sending me an unannotated copy and you have, so far, only sent out to the other side an annotated copy, add -Unannotated-tbso to the prefix to remind you that you need to send it out to the other side (when you send it out to the other side remove the -tbso).

Check for further documents

Correspondence etc. sent out in the litigation

There may be correspondence (letters and emails) sent between you and the other party as the litigation proceeds which is about the litigation itself. This is known as inter-partes correspondence. Much of this is likely to be routine but anything significant should be sent to me. You should not need to add any prefix because it should be obvious what each item is and where it has come from. Just ensure that its filename includes a concise description such as Letter Smith to Jones. Similarly with correspondence with the tribunal and Directions issued by the tribunal. Make sure you send me all directions issued by the Tribunal.

Other documents sent to you by the other side

Apart from inter-partes correspondence it is possible that the other side might have sent you during the litigation (or with a "pre-action" letter or as part of the Land Registry phase) some documents not accompanied by a statement or disclosure list. If so you should have received further copies of those documents,  accompanied by a statement or disclosure list, later on, so that they will have a prefix. If not, send me the document but make sure that you put a letter at the start of the filename (A if the other side is the Applicant, R if they are the Respondent) as it is important that I  can distinguish between documents you had all along and documents you only have copies of because the other side has sent you copies as part of the litigation.      

Extra documents listed in Land Registry Case Summary

If the case was referred to the tribunal by the Land Registry, the Land Registry will have created a Case Summary document (or more than one Case Summary document if two or more applications were referred to the First-tier Tribunal together).

The first thing to do is to check that a copy of the Case Summary itself, and copies of documents listed in the Case Summary, are already included amongst the documents you have already sent me. It should be easy to check because the filenames of the documents you have sent me so far should contain the Case Summary reference e.g. LRCS-4 if that document is listed in the Case Summary. So you can tick them off. If any documents listed in the LR Case Summary have not been sent already, send them to me: 

LRCS-3    Survey Report .pdf  

If there are any documents listed in the Case Summary which you do not already have copies of, ask the Land Registry to send you copies so that you can send them to me.

Other documents  

The main purpose of the current exercise is to send me copies of documents you have already sent out, and the other side has sent out, so far, in the litigation.  But if you have some other documents which you think may be relevant, please send them to me. If the tribunal makes an order requiring the parties to disclose all relevant documents then you should have sent out such documents anyway unless privileged (you can choose to send out privileged documents if you want to use them but you do not have to) but you might have only just come across a document and be unsure whether it is relevant and/or privileged. If you believe that the document is or might be relevant then send it to me. As it is a document which neither side has yet sent out it will have no party identifier (A or R) at the start of the filename - but I will know that it is your document if it is not inter-partes correspondence, not a Tribunal order etc.

General notes

Note 1: Preserve all original files: do not rename original files. Also do not rename the files you have already sent out (nor files the other side has sent to you) in the litigation because these are your record of exactly what was sent/received (if there should be a query later). If you need to rename the copies which you send to me, only rename copies, not originals.

Note 2: The party identifier at the start of the filename is to indicate which party sent out the document as part of the current litigation process (including in the pre-action phase). Of course the documents which you have in your possession which you send out copies of during the litigation may have originally come from a variety of sources including photographs you have taken in the past, invoices you have received, invoices you have created and sent out (keeping a copy), emails you have sent out in the past (leaving a copy in your "sent items" folder) and emails you have received in the past. Some of the emails you have received in the past might actually have been from the person who is now the other party in the litigation but you would still use your party identifier if you are the Respondent) when sending me a copy because it is the copy in your possession which you sent out as part of the litigation process.

Note 3: Don't send me individual pages of a document as separate PDFs. Remember: one document one PDF!

Disclaimer

The information above is necessarily of a general nature and will not be applicable to every case: it is intended to be used in conjunction with more specific advice to the individual client about the individual case. Contact me for advice about your case.

The information on this page about specific computer techniques is provided for information purposes only. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date at the time it was written but no responsibility for its accuracy, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by me. You should satisfy yourself, before using any of the techniques, software or services described, that the techniques are appropriate for your purposes and that the software or service is reliable.