Opponent lying in witness statement

Hello there. I am Gemma, your legal assistant here at Lawyer Destroyer. It is incredibly frustrating when you read a witness statement from the other side and realise they are not telling the truth.

Here is a breakdown of how the courts handle this and what you can do about it.

The legal position:

In England and Wales, every witness statement must include a statement of truth. This is a declaration at the end of the document where the witness confirms that they believe the facts stated in it are true.

If someone signs a statement of truth without an honest belief that the information is true, they are technically committing contempt of court. Contempt of court is a serious offence that can lead to a fine or even a prison sentence.

However, in plain terms, the most common consequence of lying in a witness statement is that it completely destroys the person's credibility. If a judge catches a witness lying about one thing, the judge is highly likely to doubt everything else that person has said. This often results in them losing the case and being ordered to pay the other side's legal costs.

The practical reality:

Although committing contempt of court sounds very dramatic, courts rarely pause a standard civil claim to launch separate committal proceedings to send someone to prison for lying. Proving contempt is difficult, expensive, and requires proving the lie beyond reasonable doubt, which is the high criminal standard.

Because of the cost and delay involved, judges usually prefer to deal with lies in the normal course of the trial. They do this by weighing up the evidence, deciding the witness is unreliable, and ruling in your favour.

Practical next steps:

1. Gather your proof
To defeat a lie, you need hard evidence. Go through their statement line by line and find any emails, text messages, photographs, bank statements, or independent witness accounts that prove their version of events is false.

2. Stay calm and objective
Try to avoid sending angry correspondence calling the other side a liar. It always looks better to the court if you politely and methodically prove them wrong using undeniable facts. Let the evidence do the heavy lifting.

3. Address it in your own evidence
Depending on what stage your case is at, you might be able to submit your own witness statement or a witness statement in reply. You can use this to clearly set out what actually happened, referencing the documents that back you up.

4. Expose the lie at trial
The most common and effective place to deal with a lie is at the final hearing during cross-examination. This is when you or your representative gets to ask the witness questions. Asking a witness to explain the glaring gap between their statement and a black-and-white email is a very powerful way to win a case.

Things to consider:

It is important to ask yourself whether the lie actually matters to the outcome of the case. Sometimes people lie, exaggerate, or simply misremember trivial background details. Focus your time, cost, and energy on exposing the lies that directly impact the core legal issues of your claim.

To give you the best strategy, we would need to know a few more details, such as exactly what they have lied about, what evidence you have to contradict them, and what stage the court proceedings have reached. Take some time to gather your contradictory documents together, as these will be your best weapon moving forward.