Day 147 - 04 Jul 95 - Page 35


     
     1        to be saying that, but I see what is there.
     2
     3   MR. RAMPTON:  I meant what I said.  I did not mean it in the way
     4        that Mr. Morris is taking it.  I did mean this -- and it
     5        has been my observation throughout this case -- that if
     6        they can get anybody else -- and, in particular, McDonald's
     7        and, in particular, their solicitors -- to do something for
     8        them, they will try jolly hard to ensure that that other
     9        person -----
    10
    11   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If that is so, I see nothing offensive in it,
    12        because I think the Defendants have their time cut out
    13        keeping up acting on behalf of themselves, and that is
    14        reason enough in itself.  However that may be, I will
    15        extend it to ten to three, since every time I suggest an
    16        adjournment we seem to go on for an extra five minutes.
    17        But you let Mr. Riley know when are you ready to come back,
    18        and if it is not by ten to three, give him a good weather
    19        forecast.  But I would like the court cleared, because
    20        I propose to stay in here alone.
    21
    22                       (Short Adjournment)
    23
    24   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Was there anything more you wanted to say,
    25        Ms. Steel?
    26
    27   MS. STEEL:  I just wanted to answer a couple of things
    28        Mr. Rampton said when he was making his speech, or whatever
    29        you want to call it.  Firstly, he said twice that we had
    30        admitted distributing distorted information, which
    31        obviously we have not admitted and it is completely
    32        untrue.  We are not remotely interested in distributing
    33        false information, unlike the Plaintiffs through their
    34        adverts.
    35
    36        The other thing is, I think he said something about the
    37        basis of giving us the transcripts was that there was some
    38        kind of agreement about it.  As I recall, there was not.
    39        I do not recall any agreement whatsoever about the
    40        provision of transcripts.  The agreement concerning the use
    41        of CaseView was just that if one party was going to have
    42        it, everybody else would have it.  It was agreed on that
    43        basis.
    44
    45        We have said that we are not distributing transcripts to
    46        anyone other than witnesses and legal advisers.
    47        Mr. Rampton is now going much further than that.  He does
    48        not even want us to be able to show transcripts, to give
    49        copies of transcripts to our witnesses.  He expects us to
    50        call them over from all over the world to comment on what 
    51        has been said in court, which of course would cost a lot of 
    52        money and be completely impractical. 
    53
    54        The other thing I want to say with regard to that is that
    55        I actually recall, I think it was when Mr. Crawford was in
    56        the witness box, Mr. Rampton asking him whether or not we
    57        had given him copies of evidence of previous witnesses.  So
    58        he obviously expected us to have provided them with
    59        copies.  I think that that is a normal use of transcripts,
    60        and there is no reason why it should not apply to us as

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