Marks v Ricegrowers' Co-operative Ltd

In the case of Marks v Ricegrowers' Co-operative Ltd, the Appellant sought to introduce new evidence in the form of a report from Dr Kirwan in an appeal against an arbitrator's decision. The primary issue before the court was whether the Appellant could introduce this new evidence under the provisions of Practice Direction No.6. The Appellant argued that the report was not reasonably available to them at the time of the arbitration due to the late response from Dr Kirwan, despite their efforts to obtain it.

The court considered the Appellant's assertion that they could not reasonably have obtained the report earlier, despite numerous requests and attempts to secure it, including prepayment and multiple phone calls. The court accepted that the Appellant's solicitors had done all reasonably possible to obtain the report by the required deadline. However, the court also noted that the Appellant had the option to seek an extension from the arbitrator, which they did not pursue. The court found that the Appellant's failure to seek an extension, despite having the opportunity to do so, might have been a calculated decision to proceed without the report. This decision ultimately did not succeed, and therefore, the court concluded that the report was not reasonably available during the primary proceedings.

The court determined that the report of Dr Kirwan was not reasonably available during the primary arbitration and thus could be considered as new evidence in the appeal. The court did not find any fault with the Appellant's efforts to obtain the report but highlighted the missed opportunity to request an extension as a potential alternative. Ultimately, the court ruled that the report could be admitted as new evidence in the appeal proceedings.