5,483
edits
Difference between revisions of "Discovery and Disclosure in Family Law"
From Clicklaw Wikibooks
Discovery and Disclosure in Family Law (view source)
Revision as of 21:07, 12 June 2017
, 21:07, 12 June 2017no edit summary
Desy Wahyuni (talk | contribs) (Created page with "The discovery process involves learning about (or “discovering”) the other party’s case. It allows each party to learn about the information and evidence that the other...") |
Desy Wahyuni (talk | contribs) |
||
| Line 54: | Line 54: | ||
It is important to understand that the term “document” is not restricted to paper documents. Rule 1-1(1) of the [http://canlii.ca/en/bc/laws/regu/bc-reg-169-2009/latest/bc-reg-169-2009.html Supreme Court Family Rules] defines “document” as: | It is important to understand that the term “document” is not restricted to paper documents. Rule 1-1(1) of the [http://canlii.ca/en/bc/laws/regu/bc-reg-169-2009/latest/bc-reg-169-2009.html Supreme Court Family Rules] defines “document” as: | ||
<blockquote><tt>'''"document"''' has an extended meaning and includes a photograph, film, recording of sound, any record of a permanent or semi-permanent character and any information recorded or stored by means of any device.</tt></blockquote> | <blockquote><tt>'''"document"''' has an extended meaning and includes a photograph, film, recording of sound, any record of a permanent or semi-permanent character and any information recorded or stored by means of any device.</tt></blockquote> | ||
Rule 9-1 [http://canlii.ca/en/bc/laws/regu/bc-reg-169-2009/latest/bc-reg-169-2009.html Supreme Court Family Rules] requires each party to produce a list of their relevant documents (referred to as a “list of documents”) (see Rule 9-1(1) of the [http://canlii.ca/en/bc/laws/regu/bc-reg-169-2009/latest/bc-reg-169-2009.html Supreme Court Family Rules]). The list of documents must be in [[Form F20 List of Documents | Form F20]] and provided to the other party within 35 days after the close of the pleadings (which is usually the date of service of the response, with or without a counterclaim). | |||
The list of documents ([[Form F20 List of Documents |Form F20]]) is divided into 5 parts: | |||
:Part 1: Documents that are or have been in the listing party’s possession or control and that could be used by any party at trial to prove or disprove a material fact; | |||
:Part 2: Other documents to which the listing party intends to refer at trial; | |||
:Part 3: Documents that relate to a matter in question in the action; | |||
:::This includes any documents that were listed in response to a demand under Rule 9-1(8) of the Supreme Court Family Rules (described below) and an documents produced in response to a court order under Rule 9-1(11) of the Supreme Court Family Rules (also describe below) that have not already been listed; | |||
:Part 4: Documents for which privilege from production is claimed. | |||
:::There may be documents that are “privileged” from production, meaning that the party does not have to produce them to the other side in the family law proceeding. | |||
:::For example, if a party consults a lawyer for independent legal advice (at any time before or during the proceeding) that communication is privileged and does not need to be produced. | |||
:::Similarly, if a party consults an expert, such a business valuator or an actuary, that party does not need to produce notes or other documents relating to the advice received if he/she does not intend to rely on it at trial (if the party does intend to rely on it, then it becomes expert evidence which is discussed in more detail in [[Preparing for Trial in Family Matters |Preparing for Trial]]). | |||
:::This is another area where it would be good to seek independent legal advice before taking this step. | |||
For each part of the list of documents, a party is required to: | |||
* number each document, | |||
* indicate the date of each document, | |||
* provide a brief description of the document (it is also helpful to include the number of pages of each document), | |||
* indicate whether the document is still in that party’s possession, and | |||
* indicate the date on which the document is being listed (this is helpful when new documents are added and lists are updated throughout the proceeding). | |||
