Juergen Schrempp denies that Daimler took over Chrysler

Judge Joseph Farnan appointed a Special Master, who is also a judge, to examine the documents.

Lawyers for investor Kirk Kerkorian, who is suing the car maker, alleged the papers had been improperly withheld.

DaimlerChrysler denies falsely describing a takeover as a merger to save on payouts to shareholders.

Surprise revelation

Mr Kerkorian, whose investment group Tracinda was Chrysler's largest shareholder at the time of the merger, is seeking up to $2bn (£1.15bn) in compensation.

The surprise twist to the two-week old hearing came after DaimlerChrysler's lawyers handed Mr Kerkorian's legal team a packet of documents on Monday night.

It contained 61 pages of material relating to the tie-up between the two car firms. Judge Farnan described the papers as containing "in some instances very substantial testimony".

Mr Kerkorian's lawyer, Terry Christensen, said he was "shocked" by the papers and demanded a judgement in favour of his client.

"These defendants have defaulted on their responsibility to the court," he said.

He said DaimlerChrysler's law firm did not appear to have behaved in an "untoward" way.

The documents were handed over ahead of testimony from Gary Valade, who was Chrysler's Chief Financial Officer at the time of the tie-up negotiations.

Most of the notes are believed to come from Mr Valade's files.