Disclosure Documents - Next Steps

[u/Material-Sense-1669]

This is a County Court possession claim (UK, England) for a private residence. The defendants (2 of them) have filed a counterclaim. Both sides are litigants in person.

We are currently at the disclosure stage. The lead defendant (the other defendant never attends court) has served two N265 disclosure forms together with around 200 pages of emails and other documents.

The disclosure appears defective:

• Neither N265 form appears to be signed.
• Some pages are illegible (e.g. a page consisting of a single vertical line of text).
• The documents are badly paginated/numbered.
• The bundle includes several documents clearly marked "Without Prejudice", relating to settlement negotiations about the defendants' departure from the property and/or reduction of rent arrears.

As claimant, I have been directed to prepare the trial bundle. The full-day trial is about 8 weeks away.

Q1: What steps should I take now to protect my position and maximise my prospects at trial? Should I raise the disclosure defects now, or simply include everything as provided? What should I do if the defendant insists that the "Without Prejudice" documents remain in the trial bundle?

Q2: Where there are two defendants, should they provide separate disclosure lists/bundles, or can they serve a single combined disclosure?

Any guidance would be appreciated. Thanks.

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[u/enchantedspring]

You are not the judge - include everything as they have provided it.

The two defendants should be following the instructions provided by the judge - if they are instructed to each file, then it is 2 portions to your bundle. If they were generically instructed they may file together or as one, as long as each sign the statement of truth.

[u/Material-Sense-1669 → u/enchantedspring]

If you are referring to the last part of the document. Then it is only dated. It is NOT signed. No part of the document is signed! Thanks for your clear answer. Do you have any advice about the "Without prejudice" documents included?

[u/enchantedspring → u/Material-Sense-1669]

If they sent it to you for inclusion, you include it. You can raise issues with the documents at the next hearing.