Knowledge

Effective as of 30 March 2026, the Cayman Islands Grand Court ("Grand Court") has a new discovery/disclosure ("Discovery") rule allowing parties to seek:

• pre-action Discovery; and
• non-party Discovery.

The new Rule 7A has been introduced into the existing Grand Court Rules Order 24, governing Discovery in Cayman Islands court proceedings. The new rule fills two key gaps in the Grand Court's previous Discovery powers and will now permit potential plaintiffs to seek pre action Discovery from potential defendants and, where proceedings already exist, will allow parties to seek Discovery from non parties at an interlocutory stage.

The new Rule 7A is designed to promote a more transparent "cards on the table" approach to Discovery in Grand Court proceedings. Early Discovery of relevant documents to proposed claims from the parties can help parties to attempt settling disputes at an earlier stage, whether by narrowing the issues in dispute, or avoiding litigation entirely as a result of pre-action Discovery. The ability to seek non-party Discovery early in the case, without the need to file a subpoena compelling Discovery of documents at trial, will mean a more efficient conduct of litigation.

The new Rule 7A provision is modeled on long standing, similar rules in England and Hong Kong and it is anticipated that the cases from those jurisdictions which determine the principles of when an application will be granted will be applied by the Grand Court.

The likely principles will be that:

• Discovery will help deal with the matter fairly;
• the documents requested are clearly defined;
• Discovery is proportionate (the burden and cost must be reasonable) and will save costs; and
• Discovery could assist in resolving the dispute without proceedings and is not being used to harass or put unfair pressure on the other party.

The new Rule 7A enhances the Grand Court's powers and will further strengthen its case management powers by furthering the overriding objective of helping parties deal with cases expeditiously and economically.