October 2017
25 October 2017 - At the request of the Judge, both parties returned to court to deal with a matter relating to the timing of the November 2018 court date. He also took this opportunity to set a date for a further 4 week trial in March 2019 to examine matters such as the behaviour of Post Office Limited towards Subpostmasters and to conclude virtually all of the substantive issues not previously dealt with in November 2018.
19 October 2017 - The first main procedural hearing in the Group Litigation being brought on behalf of 522 claimants against Post Office Limited took place before the Judge (The Honourable Mr. Justice Fraser) at the High Court.
Key orders made at the hearing
Extra time has been allowed to enable more subpostmasters to join the action
In response to all those who have come along after the initial July 2017 cut-off date for Claimants to the Group Action, the Judge has extended the cut-off date for new claims. Freeths, the legal representatives to JFSA and all the Claimants in the Group Action will be accepting new applications from any Subpostmasters (including assistants, managers, crown office employees and temporary Subpostmasters) up until the end of 10 November 2017 if they wish to be considered for inclusion.
Freeths can be contacted by following this link, emailing poclaim@freeths.co.uk, calling 0800 304 7727, or using this contact form.
Court Trial - Date Set
A 4 week hearing has been set for November 2018 where evidence from a number of lead cases will be used to test many of the contractually based common issues, such as:-
Expert IT Evidence
The Judge ordered that both parties may rely on expert IT evidence to support their case in relation to the extent and impact of bugs in Post Office Limited’s Horizon system and its performance.
Early Disclose of documents by Post Office Limited
Judge Fraser ordered that the documents previously held by Second Sight, an independent forensic accountancy firm appointed by Post Office Limited in 2011 to examine issues being raised by ex and serving Subpostmasters, should be disclosed by Post Office Limited. This means that around 35,000 documents deemed relevant to the issues in the case will be made available. It was also agreed that the parties will complete detailed questionnaires, setting out the electronic documents that each hold, following which, disclosure orders will be made in relation to some categories of documents.
19 October 2017 - The first main procedural hearing in the Group Litigation being brought on behalf of 522 claimants against Post Office Limited took place before the Judge (The Honourable Mr. Justice Fraser) at the High Court.
Key orders made at the hearing
Extra time has been allowed to enable more subpostmasters to join the action
In response to all those who have come along after the initial July 2017 cut-off date for Claimants to the Group Action, the Judge has extended the cut-off date for new claims. Freeths, the legal representatives to JFSA and all the Claimants in the Group Action will be accepting new applications from any Subpostmasters (including assistants, managers, crown office employees and temporary Subpostmasters) up until the end of 10 November 2017 if they wish to be considered for inclusion.
Freeths can be contacted by following this link, emailing poclaim@freeths.co.uk, calling 0800 304 7727, or using this contact form.
Court Trial - Date Set
A 4 week hearing has been set for November 2018 where evidence from a number of lead cases will be used to test many of the contractually based common issues, such as:-
- Did Post Office Limited owe to Subpostmasters duties of good faith, fair dealing, transparency, co-operation, and trust and confidence?
- Implied terms – were legally binding terms implied in the contracts but not expressly stated? For example, what contractual obligations did Post Office Limited have in relation to investigating and determining the causes of alleged shortfalls?
- Unusual, onerous or unfair terms – did contracts include unusual, onerous or unfair terms?
- In what circumstances did Subpostmasters actually have liability to Post Office Limited for shortfalls and losses?
- Did the contracts allow Post Office Limited to suspend /terminate Subpostmasters in the manner in which they did?
Expert IT Evidence
The Judge ordered that both parties may rely on expert IT evidence to support their case in relation to the extent and impact of bugs in Post Office Limited’s Horizon system and its performance.
Early Disclose of documents by Post Office Limited
Judge Fraser ordered that the documents previously held by Second Sight, an independent forensic accountancy firm appointed by Post Office Limited in 2011 to examine issues being raised by ex and serving Subpostmasters, should be disclosed by Post Office Limited. This means that around 35,000 documents deemed relevant to the issues in the case will be made available. It was also agreed that the parties will complete detailed questionnaires, setting out the electronic documents that each hold, following which, disclosure orders will be made in relation to some categories of documents.