Day 019 - 27 Jul 94 - Page 76


     
     1
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I was left with the impression from
     2        Mr. Beavers -- I cannot remember whether I got the same
              impression from Mr. Preston -- that he thought there might
     3        be statistics readily available.
 
     4   MR. RAMPTON:  As your Lordship will recall from having looked
              back at the judgment, my objection was partly on the
     5        grounds of relevance but largely on the grounds of
              oppression.  As your Lordship has probably already
     6        guessed, if the information is not too difficult to
              obtain, I expect we shall be fairly docile on that issue.
     7        I do not suppose there will be a great argument about
              that.  I am not saying so now.  My instructions may be a
     8        bit different.
 
     9   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If we take it step by step.  The first
              stage, unless you resisted it, would be for me to --
    10        I will order, if necessary -- invite your instructing
              solicitors to produce a list of the kind of statistics
    11        which are available from, let us say, something like 1987
              onwards.
    12
         MR. RAMPTON:  As far back as we can go, within reason.
    13
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  As far back as you can go into something
    14        like the mid-80s.  The importance of raising it now, since
              Mr. Beavers is going to come back, there is precious
    15        little point in finding him back in the witness box and
              there are readily available statistics which we still have
    16        not got hold of.
 
    17   MR. RAMPTON:  I do not suppose he is the right person to deal
              with it, anyway.  It will be Mr. Stein, if anybody.  So we
    18        are looking in that case sometime into November, I would
              guess, at the rate we are going at the moment.  But,
    19        anyway, it is something for us to consider.  I would
              respectfully invite your Lordship -- it is something for
    20        us to consider over the next few weeks -- and if we do not
              come up with a formula or with material to satisfy your
    21        Lordship, then your Lordship may have to make some kind of
              order.  I might be instructed (though I doubt it) to take
    22        a hard line and argue the thing formally.
 
    23   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  At the moment my feeling is that if there
              are those statistics they should be produced because a
    24        point has been made in your client's favour that, for all
              the large numbers of restaurants they have, the defendants
    25        have only been able to indicate so many accidents.
  
    26   MR. RAMPTON:  I do not know what the statistics might show. 
              One guess is that they will show, in this country anyway, 
    27        for a period of time -- I know not how long -- only
              reportable accident statistics, minor accidents being out
    28        with the legal obligation to report.
 
    29   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  My instinct at the moment is, let us see
              them, and then we can decide about matters like that.
    30
              Were there other documents?

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