Filing of False Witness Statement

[LordZoot5027]

I am a litigant in person and a defendant in a civil claim in the high court. The judgment went against me based on a witness statement of Mrs X in support of the Claimant. Mrs X was not present at court and her witness statement was only made available to me 30 minutes before the hearing on February 3rd. During the hearing, the solicitor of the Claimant informed the court that he had made contact with the witness.

 

Following enquiries at the address supplied and at the place of work stated in her witness statement, Mrs X is not known at either. A check on the voters register revealed no such person. I've written to the solicitors and questioned them about this new development and they've failed to respond.

 

My obvious and only conclusion is that Mrs X does not exist and the witness statement of Mrs X was indeed made up. Should this matter be reported to the police or to the court? And if reported to the court what is the likely process involved? I

 

 

Thank you

[honeybee13]

Hello and welcome to CAG.

 

The forum guys should be along over the course of the day with advice for you.

 

My best, HB

[LordZoot5027]

Thanks HB....I'll wait to hear.

[rebel11]

Hi Lord

 

Misleading the Court is Contempt of Court. The person signing the Witness Statement does so in the knowledge that everything it contains is the truth. So a false witness statement is Contempt of Court.

 

Rule 32.14

 

http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part32#32.14

 

It's a civil matter, it is very unlikely the police would be interested, unless a crime has been committed. If you inform the Court, I doubt they will actually do anything.

 

What you would have to do is start a fresh claim against the party that has filed a false Witness Statement. You should also complain about the solicitors.

 

http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/for-the-public/faqs/complaining-about-a-solicitor/

 

Before you do anything, wait for Andy or the guys to confirm the above.

[steampowered]

I understand that you might not want to post the full details on a public forum, but it is impossible to understand what happened without a little bit more background.

 

At High Court level it generally can't happen that a random witness statement appears just before the hearing - there would have been case management orders requiring exchange of witness statements before the hearing. It is also very difficult to believe that the case was decided on the basis of a statement from an unidentified and unknown witness who didn't give evidence in court.

 

Can you give more context regarding what the case was about, what the witness statement was about and how the case was decided? Is this the same case as http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?413530-Lawyer-and-Barrister-Withheld-Vital-Evidence-in-Court?

 

 

You can't start a fresh claim as a fresh claim would be barred. Depending on the circumstances if there is anything that can be done you'd probably need to make an application in the current claim or appeal.

[LordZoot5027]

@rebel11, thanks for your response, well appreciated.

[rebel11]

Just to clarify, when I say 'fresh claim', it should read 'new claim ', but that is solely to prove the witness is in 'Contempt of Court'.

I don't think you can do anything about the existing case other then appeal it if you still can.

[LordZoot5027]

@steampowered, spot on. Appeal in progress, but on different grounds to new developments. Response just received from SRA who advised that the court be informed and to file a report with them. What is the likely action that will be taken by the court?

[rebel11]

I doubt they will do anything. Again you need to prove to the court that the Witness statement is false, the person whose Witness Statement it is will need the opportunity to prove it isn't false. The only way that can happen is for you to start proceedings. Lets see what the guys advise.

 

@steampowered, spot on. Appeal in progress, but on different grounds to new developments. Response just received from SRA who advised that the court be informed and to file a report with them. What is the likely action that will be taken by the court?

[LordZoot5027]

@rebel11, thanks. I think this situation goes a bit further than just a false witness statement. I probably wasn't very clear initially. Besides being false, from enquiries this person does not exist. So, not only is the statement false, it is fake. The solicitors failure to answer and provide proof of the witness' existence is very telling and concerning, in my opinion.

[rebel11]

Gather as much evidence as possible, write to the Court, see what they suggest.

 

@rebel11, thanks. I think this situation goes a bit further than just a false witness statement. I probably wasn't very clear initially. Besides being false, from enquiries this person does not exist. So, not only is the statement false, it is fake. The solicitors failure to answer and provide proof of the witness' existence is very telling and concerning, in my opinion.

[steampowered]

This is all very odd. I find it very difficult to imagine circumstances in which there would be an important witness statement produced by someone you don't know about, as if you do not know them its difficult to see how they would have factual evidence about the dispute which is sufficiently important to decide the dispute. Its very difficult to advise on the correct course of action without more details, though I understand why you may be reluctant to post them. If a witness statement was allowed in the circumstances you describe, and you objected at the time, and it was important to the decision reached by the judge, I would think that should be good grounds for appealing to ask for a retrial.

 

 

Without knowing the circumstances it strikes me as unlikely that the solicitors would be involved in this. Unless acting on a CFA they would be getting paid anyway. Its difficult to see how it would be worth the solicitors risking losing their practice certificate and their job by filing a witness statement they know to be made by someone who doesn't exist. It is really their client that would be most to blame here not the solicitors. Also the solicitors will not be able to divulge further details about the witness without instructions from their client. I'm not going to tell you what to do or what not to do without knowing the details, but it is probably best not to get too distracted with the SRA angle.

[LordZoot5027]

@rebel11, thanks.

[LordZoot5027]

@steampowered, thanks for all your information. I have taken this on board.

[Ganymede]

@rebel11, thanks. I think this situation goes a bit further than just a false witness statement. I probably wasn't very clear initially. Besides being false, from enquiries this person does not exist. So, not only is the statement false, it is fake. The solicitors failure to answer and provide proof of the witness' existence is very telling and concerning, in my opinion.

 

 

 

Are you sure they don't exist?

 

Does the Witness Statement in question not start "Mt name is....... and I live at...... blah, blah"?

[rebel11]

Regards the legal system, courts etc, anything is possible, all sorts of rubbish happens, solicitors lie, barristers lie, defendants lie, claimants lie and judges get it wrong. It's less then perfect, but it's what we've got.