Day 157 - 18 Jul 95 - Page 13
1 The Plaintiffs must know that we are unable to take such
2 necessary notes, and the effect will be if we do not have
3 the transcripts (and there is absolutely no reason why
4 McDonald's should impose conditions without any basis in
5 their so-called undertaking they have sought) to slow the
6 case down and to increase the costs in the case and to
7 undermine our effective defence of the action.
8
9 I am trying to put our whole case here and then refer to
10 the specific authorities in detail. I am going to show
11 also a copy of the notes that I made last Friday as an
12 example of the kind of notes that we may or may not be able
13 to make if we do not have transcripts.
14
15 Mr. Rampton also said, when arguing about the transcript
16 issue, that on day 147, page 30, line 40: "In some senses
17 it is not a difficult case." But the Plaintiffs were
18 arguing that the case was so complex that a jury would not
19 be able to adjudicate or follow all the evidence. In the
20 light of that decision which has been made and we are
21 having to accept, then he cannot argue the converse in
22 order to say that taking notes will be a simple matter and
23 checking up on things would be a simple matter.
24
25 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Can I put something to you in relation to
26 that?
27
28 MR. MORRIS: Yes.
29
30 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It was not quite as simple as being so
31 complex that a jury could not understand. If you go back
32 to the reasons which I gave for saying that it should be
33 tried by judge alone rather than jury, it was specifically
34 directed at medical issues, in particular, and you will
35 remember I specifically said that I was not adopting the
36 concept that I was more intelligent than a jury, but I did
37 have the advantage of being able to take the bundles of
38 documents away with me and read all the medical literature
39 and I could go back to it time and time again, which a jury
40 sitting in the jury box, seeing only the bundles when they
41 were invited to refer to a document in the course of the
42 case, could not do.
43
44 So it was not quite as simple as just being so complex that
45 a jury could not understand it. You have the advantage of
46 your copy bundles; you can read the documents as much as
47 you want. That is the first point.
48
49 The second point is that, although (and I mention these
50 only so that you can deal with them) we may come back to
51 medical evidence in the future, query, to what extent they
52 will be recalled, it occurs to me and, therefore, I would
53 like you to turn your minds to it, that we have really had
54 nearly all the evidence on the complex scientific or
55 medical aspects. It is a point I partly made in my ruling
56 on 4th July. If you look at the witnesses who are to come,
57 they are largely witnesses, or almost entirely witnesses,
58 of fact that you would find in any ordinary witness action
59 in any of the courtrooms around the building.
60
