Day 201 - 15 Dec 95 - Page 19
1 first two days for the Defendants' evidence. If I go 11th,
2 12th, 15th.
3
4 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Let me just get the calendar straight in my
5 mind. Mr. Morris -- I think you have been arranging it
6 basically -- what I would like you to do is to arrange them
7 over Tuesday 16th and Wednesday 17th. I would like you to
8 do it on those days; it should be possible with this amount
9 of notice. I have been particularly relaxed about when
10 people come because I know there are problems.
11
12 If there is any difficulty about either of those two days
13 with a particular witness but he or she could come on
14 Thursday 11th, Friday 12th or Monday 15th, then I think
15 they have to come then and it does not really matter now we
16 have got this far through the evidence whether they come
17 before or after the recalled witnesses or further witnesses
18 on behalf of the Plaintiffs. It is not going to make a jot
19 of difference at the end of the day.
20
21 MR. MORRIS: I think that two days is too short. Mainly, my
22 concern is with Mr. Brett. We did not receive the
23 statement sent to us in the post. He has averred all the
24 other witness statements as being accurate to the best of
25 his knowledge which I indicated, well, I said categorically
26 he had done about two weeks ago, I think it was. So he may
27 take longer.
28
29 MR. JUSTICE BELL: He will not take longer for this simple
30 reason, that I am not going to have any extra evidence from
31 any of those witnesses which has not been reduced to
32 writing and served by way of their statements or
33 supplemental statements which have been served at least
34 five days before, pursuant to my previous direction.
35
36 I am telling you now four weeks or it is over four weeks,
37 in fact, because there are a few days after the beginning
38 of term, that I am not going to have any further evidence
39 apart from one or two questions to settle them in and one
40 or two personal details. Having got this far through the
41 evidence in relation to Colchester, you should be able to
42 meet those demands perfectly easily and without any
43 detriment to your case whatsoever.
44
45 MS. STEEL: If that is the ruling, I would like to repeat my
46 earlier request that the Plaintiffs be given an order to
47 disclose any relevant documents in their possession in good
48 time for us to take instructions from our witnesses.
49
50 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No. I am not going to change what I have
51 said about that, but I am going to stick to what I have
52 just said. You have all the time in the world to do it.
53 We are well into the Colchester evidence. You have the
54 measure of the Plaintiffs' case on it. The Plaintiffs have
55 the measure of your case and I think I have the measure of
56 both cases. That is the way it will be done. That being
57 so, we should have absolutely no trouble getting through
58 two witnesses a day; indeed, I would not be at all
59 surprised if we do not finish around mid-day or soon after
60 in relation to each; five or 10 minutes for
