Group Litigation vs Post Office Limited
A five week Common Issues trial is to start the week of 5th November 2018 in the High Court’s Technology and Construction Court at the Rolls Building in London. This is the first, of presently 3 trials, to be held by summer 2019 following the Group Litigation Order made on 22nd March 2017.
The second, Horizon Issues trial, is due to begin in March 2019, and will address the issues relevant to the operation of the Horizon system itself, including expert evidence from IT experts.
The Common Issues trial will hear from six Lead Claimants giving evidence and 14 witnesses giving evidence for the defendant (Post Office Limited). The evidence will be used to demonstrate some of the key issues, in particular, regarding the nature of the contract between the Claimants and Post Office that affects the entire Group. The outcome of the common issues hearing will influence how the case proceeds thenceforth.
This legal action is now closed to new applicants, however the JFSA has updated its advice to any serving Subpostmaster who finds they have run into problems with Post Office whilst using its Horizon system, and details can be found here. For any ex-Subpostmaster who has only just discovered the legal action and would have wanted to register to join if they had be aware of it early, our advice is still to contact Freeths LLP, the legal firm representing the Claimants in this action.
If you want to keep up with the latest as the trial progresses, Nick Wallis, the reporter who has been following this issue for a number of years, will be attending each day of the November trial and will be keeping his http://www.postofficetrial.com/ website updated.
The second, Horizon Issues trial, is due to begin in March 2019, and will address the issues relevant to the operation of the Horizon system itself, including expert evidence from IT experts.
The Common Issues trial will hear from six Lead Claimants giving evidence and 14 witnesses giving evidence for the defendant (Post Office Limited). The evidence will be used to demonstrate some of the key issues, in particular, regarding the nature of the contract between the Claimants and Post Office that affects the entire Group. The outcome of the common issues hearing will influence how the case proceeds thenceforth.
This legal action is now closed to new applicants, however the JFSA has updated its advice to any serving Subpostmaster who finds they have run into problems with Post Office whilst using its Horizon system, and details can be found here. For any ex-Subpostmaster who has only just discovered the legal action and would have wanted to register to join if they had be aware of it early, our advice is still to contact Freeths LLP, the legal firm representing the Claimants in this action.
If you want to keep up with the latest as the trial progresses, Nick Wallis, the reporter who has been following this issue for a number of years, will be attending each day of the November trial and will be keeping his http://www.postofficetrial.com/ website updated.