Day 025 - 16 Sep 94 - Page 71


     
     1        from the gains made last summer, the letter notes."
     2        Again, there is Mr. Mattox claiming public credit for the
     3        nutritional brochures issued in 1986.  That is right?
     4        A.  It is what it says, Mr. Rampton.   I said it is
     5        whatever it says.  Is that Mr. Mattox claiming public
     6        credit?  You may want to interpret it that way.  To me it
     7        just reflects what I believed at the time to be reality
     8        and what McDonald's is now denying.
     9
    10   Q.   It could not be, could it, Mr. Gardner, that a significant
    11        part, perhaps the major part, of the motivation for this
    12        1987 complaint about the advertisements was a feeling of
    13        rueful resentment in your office about what had happened
    14        in 1986?
    15        A.  No, it could not.  Motivation for what, Mr. Rampton?
    16
    17   Q.   For the complaint in 1987.
    18        A.  No, sir.  To be perfectly honest, that may have
    19        explained why we treated McDonald's in the same way; why
    20        we played back their rules of behaviour.  That is in
    21        excess of honesty I suspect.  I do not know that to be the
    22        case.  But it played no role whatsoever in the fact that
    23        we had interacted them again.  Imagine, if you will, that
    24        we thought this matter was behind us and we could go on to
    25        other matter of other companies breaking other laws, how
    26        we felt when we found out that McDonald's rather than
    27        continuing to break one law, was instead breaking another
    28        by a deceptive advertising campaign.  That was our
    29        reaction and that was the basis for our April 24, 1987
    30        letter.  The basis for the press release is something you
    31        have to ask General Mattox.
    32
    33   MR. RAMPTON:  Thank you.
    34
    35   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Do you want a break now?
    36
    37   MS. STEEL:   If we could; is it possible to have 10 minutes?  I
    38        do not think we have many questions.
    39
    40   MR. MORRIS:  We will finish today.
    41
    42   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I will come back at 10 to 4.
    43
    44                            (Short Adjournment)
    45
    46                     Re-examined by the Defendants.
    47
    48   MS. STEEL:   Just going back to what you were being asked about
    49        just before we had the break, the school children that
    50        were mentioned in this press release:  Was there any 
    51        connection between the school children and the office of 
    52        the Attorney General or anybody in the office of the 
    53        Attorney General?
    54        A.  If you mean the office of the Attorney General somehow
    55        obtained the information from the school children, no.
    56        The school children, I think, wrote to the Attorney
    57        General.  It was somebody else who then provided them to
    58        the Attorney General.  They were citizens of the state
    59        communicating with the Attorney General.
    60

Prev Next Index