Bill of Equitable Discovery (Norwich Pharmacal Orders)

Last revised February 21, 2024

A Norwich Pharmacal order or equitable bill of discovery is a form of pre-action discovery, the authority for which is found in the English House of Lords decision, Norwich Pharmacal Co. v. Commissioners of Customs and Excise, [1972] 2 All E.R. 943 (H.L.).

This remedy allows the court to order the discovery of a person or organization who is not a party, but is in some way connected to the misconduct of an unknown wrongdoer and is the only practical source of information.

For example, an injured party may want to find out who sent an offensive communication.  He knows that a certain company has information identifying the sender.  He could apply for a Norwich Pharmacal order compelling the company to produce documents revealing the name of the sender.  He would then commence a new action, naming the now identified sender as defendant.