Grant v Southwestern and County Properties Ltd: ChD 1974

The court had to decide whether a tape recording fell within the expression ‘document’ in the Rules of the Supreme Court.
Held: The furnishing of information had been treated as one of the main functions of a document, and the tape recording was accordingly a document. Obiter, the court recognised the distinction between a verbatim tape-recording of a conversation and a summary of the note-taker’s recollection of a conversation with the other party to the litigation.
Walton J said: ‘it seems to me that the simplest and most foolproof method of ‘inspection’ in these cases is for the party giving discovery to play the tape to the party to whom discovery is being given, and for that party to make his own recording as it is played.’

Judges:

Walton J

Citations:

[1975] Ch 185, [1974] 2 All ER 465

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedDerby and Co Ltd And Others v Weldon And Others (No 9) ChD 25-Jul-1990
The court considered the application of rules relating to the discovery of documents to material held on computer: ‘the database of a computer, so far as it contained information capable of being retrieved and converted into readable form, and . .
CitedRegina v Secretary of State for Health ex parte Quintavalle (on behalf of Pro-Life Alliance) HL 13-Mar-2003
Court to seek and Apply Parliamentary Intention
The appellant challenged the practice of permitting cell nuclear replacement (CNR), saying it was either outside the scope of the Act, or was for a purpose which could not be licensed under the Act.
Held: The challenge failed. The court was to . .
CitedTrail Riders Fellowship and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Dorset County Council and Others CA 20-May-2013
The Fellowship had applied for orders upgrading public rights of way. The council rejected the applications saying that the digital mapping software used to repare the maps submitted were not compliant with the requirements of the legislation. They . .
CitedTrail Riders Fellowship and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Dorset County Council SC 18-Mar-2015
Objection had been made that a plan, used to register a right of way before it would disappear if un-registered, was to the wrong scale and that therefore the application was ineffetive.
Held: The Council’s appeal failed. The plan was too . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Litigation Practice, Evidence

Updated: 16 May 2022; Ref: scu.180095