Scott Schedule

The Technology and Construction Court Guide explains that 'it can sometimes be appropriate for elements of the claim, or any additional (Part 20) claim, to be set out by way of a Scott Schedule (i.e. by a table, often in landscape format, in which the claimant's case on liability and quantum is set out item by item in the first few columns and the defendant's response is set out in the adjacent columns).' It is particularly suited to disputes with many discrete allegations — the Guide gives the example that 'claims involving a final account or numerous alleged defects or items of disrepair, may be best formulated in this way, which then allows for a detailed response from the defendant.'

The Guide stresses that a Scott Schedule only works if it is kept tight and well-organised: 'the secret of an effective Scott Schedule lies in the information that is to be provided and its brevity: excessive repetition is to be avoided', with column headings usually directed by the judge, and each party's entries 'supported by a statement of truth'. Because a badly drafted schedule can simply duplicate the pleadings and expert reports rather than distil them, the court will typically only order one after considering whether it is genuinely proportionate.