Which witnesses of fact should we call to give oral evidence at trial and why?Do you foresee any practical arrangements that need to be made to enable those witnesses to give evidence at trial?

It is 12 April 2022. You are a trainee with ULaw LLP. Your supervising solicitor, Zach Purdue, has asked you to assist him with a case. ULaw LLP acts for Agri-Grain Ukraine SA, a large agricultural business operating in Ukraine. It is in a dispute with Mr. Mykhaylo Turgenev, a Ukrainian citizen and, until recently, the sole shareholder of a Ukrainian agricultural company called Silo-Grain Ukraine LLC.

The dispute is progressing in the Commercial Court in London. The most recent statement of case, being Mr. Turgenev’s Reply and Defence to Counterclaim, was filed and served on 25 March 2022. Agri-Grain does not intend to file a Reply to Defence to Counterclaim. A Case Management Conference is scheduled for Friday, 1 July
2022.

Junior Counsel instructed on behalf of Agri -Grain has drafted the attached List of Common Ground and Issues. Whilst this document has not been finalized, Zach Purdue is not anticipating any changes to this document prior to the CMC. Zach Purdue also provides you with a note of a recent meeting that he has held with Viktoria Kovak, the Director of Investments at Agri-Grain.

Read Documents A and B before answering the questions on the next page.

QUESTION 1
Zach Purdue has asked you to help him prepare for the forthcoming CMC in this case. He asks you to prepare a memo analyzing the following:
1. Which witnesses of fact should we call to give oral evidence at trial and why?Do you foresee any practical arrangements that need to be made to enable those witnesses to give evidence at trial?

2. Should we follow the client’s suggestions in relation to the appointment of a valuation expert in respect of the silos ? Is this a case in which the use of a single joint valuation expert might be suitable? What happens if we need to instruct a replacement valuation expert after the CMC has taken place? Explain your answer.

3. What documents must ULaw LLP file and/or serve on behalf of Agri-Grain in advance of the forthcoming CMC and by when?