Nottingham Forest owner sues Crystal Palace over ‘gun banner’
by: Adham Harker
August 13, 2026
Too often litigation is determined by virtue of a party’s failure to comply with key procedural rules. Midland Properties & Anor v Rakesh Singh Doal & Anors [2025] EWHC 1639 (Ch) is an example of the court imposing the severest sanction following a serious procedural failure.
Background
The claim related to a commercial property development dispute including allegations that the Claimants had been unlawfully excluded from profits of a development project. When it came to disclosure (where parties are under an obligation to produce documents relevant to the claim, whether adverse to their position or not), the Defendants repeatedly failed to comply with court orders in relation to disclosure and eventually the Court sanctioned the Defendants by debarring them from defending the claim. The Defendants’ attempts to overturn the sanctions were rejected by the Court. With the Defendants unable to defend the claim, the Court ruled in the Claimants’ favour at a liability trial in 2024.
Disclosure
The duty of disclosure is strict. A ‘cards on the table’ approach is required and parties have to certify that they have undertaken a thorough search for relevant documents within their control, and exchange lists of those documents. The lists should disclose the existence of all documents (a) that a party wishes to rely on at trial, (b) that are potentially detrimental to their case, and/or (c) that might assist another party. The rules apply equally to claimants and defendants.
After parties have exchanged lists, they can request copies of the other’s documents and at this point, the parties can effectively see each other’s ‘hand’ and may be better placed to assess the relative strength of their case.
It is therefore crucial that disclosure is carried out properly and that documents are preserved from when litigation is contemplated. The deliberate concealment, destruction or alteration of disclosable documents may constitute a contempt of court and failing to comply with a duty of disclosure can result in that party’s case being struck out.
Key takeaway
Disclosure is an integral part of a claim as it shapes how cases are founded, understood and argued. The court takes a party’s failure to comply with their disclosure obligations (or indeed any other procedural rule) seriously and whilst relief from sanctions may be granted if the breach is a one off and not serious, where there are numerous significant breaches and inadequate explanations as to why those breaches have occurred (and perhaps continue to occur), the court is prepared to impose sanctions which ultimately could see a claim lost on failure to comply with procedure rather than on the merits of the claim itself.
Vishalee Amin
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Legal Disclaimer
Articles are intended as an introduction to the topic and do not constitute legal advice
