Day 254 - 22 May 96 - Page 72


     
     1        a few days ago, I am not surprised they did not respond,
     2        but we are now getting -----
     3
     4   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think part of the trouble is there are an
     5        awful lot of documents and take a long time to -- it is not
     6        just a question of looking at them; it is a question of
     7        considering what the ramifications are.
     8
     9   MR. RAMPTON:  I quite agree.  I did explain that it is a
    10        slightly laborious task which we found when we did it.  But
    11        it does need to be dealt with, I suppose, otherwise I do
    12        not know where we find ourselves.
    13
    14        The next thing, my Lord, is if the Defendants are going to
    15        serve supplementary statements on publication, whether from
    16        themselves or from their witnesses -- we have got Mrs.
    17        Tiller's statement -- but beyond her we have got nothing.
    18        We really would like to have them at the beginning of the
    19        week before we call our publication witnesses - that is to
    20        say, Tuesday, 4th June.  We start calling them on Monday,
    21        10th; Monday, 3rd is not a court day.  We really would like
    22        to have them by 4th June, if we possibly can, because of
    23        the reason that we are calling our own people very shortly
    24        after that.  I say "our own people".  That is not quite
    25        right because, of course, they are not McDonald's people
    26        and, therefore, we shall need to-----
    27
    28   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You are calling your witnesses.
    29
    30   MR. RAMPTON:  They are our witnesses, that is right.  The reason
    31        I say that is that if we have got four or five days, there
    32        is a reasonable chance of getting their comments on
    33        whatever the Defendants and their witnesses say in support
    34        of the amended defence, which at the moment we do not
    35        know.  I think those are all the things I need to mention
    36        at the moment.
    37
    38   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  Can you help me with regard to those
    39        two items now?  Otherwise, I would like you to think about
    40        it overnight and tell me in the morning before we go on
    41        with Mr. Nicholson.  It is the question of when we will be
    42        able to have some useful discussion on various documents
    43        like computer print-outs and surveys, which at the moment
    44        there is no admissible primary evidence.  You have got a
    45        list of documents which Mrs. Brinley-Codd produced.
    46        Obviously, Mr. Rampton is most concerned about those
    47        because he needs to know which he has got to strictly prove
    48        if he wants to rely on them.  The other side of the coin is
    49        that you have to think about which ones of yours, or which
    50        ones you want to rely on, might fall into the same 
    51        category. 
    52 
    53        There was a report in The Times the other day which was in
    54        relation to a criminal case where the Court of Appeal
    55        stressed the importance of agreeing as much as possible by
    56        way of admissions, especially if there was no real contest
    57        about the material in question.  That is obvious good sense
    58        whichever way the admission is made.
    59
    60   MS. STEEL:  The basic problem is that both of us are finding it

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