Day 202 - 11 Jan 96 - Page 04
1 see, there is another aspect to the case, that, important
2 as a ruling may be, everyone involved in this case has
3 their hands full, and one's attention goes on to the next
4 matter which involves immediate consideration and, with the
5 best will in the world, things can be left over, as they
6 have been from time to time.
7
8 Unless Ms. Steel or Mr. Morris wish to say anything to me,
9 that is what I propose to do with regard to the ruling
10 which I made on 20th November.
11
12 Whether there will be any appeal or not is not my concern,
13 and I do not want to be told about that. All I am seeking
14 to do is making sure that time does begin to run, so that
15 either party -- for all I know, Mr. Rampton, the Plaintiff
16 you represent is put to a decision as to whether they
17 appeal or not.
18
19 MS. STEEL: If I could just say that we are not kind of doing
20 this as some kind of trickery, or anything like that. What
21 happened was that, as a result of what you said on
22 12th December about the need to call evidence on heart
23 disease, we thought it appropriate to get legal advice
24 about whether that did mean that you find a meaning greater
25 than that which the Plaintiffs have pleaded; and the first
26 day that we were able to see solicitors was the Tuesday
27 when the solicitor phoned you. They telephoned the appeals
28 office, and it was the appeals office that said we could
29 not put in an appeal unless we had a drawn up order, that
30 they would not accept it -- because we were trying to find
31 out how much time we would have left if we were going to
32 make an appeal; and it was them who made that point and
33 them that advised the solicitor to phone Mr. Glen. That
34 was really how it arose.
35
36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well, I will make two points on that. The
37 first is that, in any event, I think it would be wise for
38 an order to be drawn up with regard to that ruling. The
39 second is this, that if at any stage in this trial you are
40 contemplating an appeal, that you communicate with the
41 office of the Registrar of Civil Appeals, and if you feel
42 you are running into some procedural difficulty, do mention
43 it in open court, because I may be able to help.
44
45 In fact, the information I have been given about pro forma
46 appeals or applications for leave to appeal (which really
47 is also what Mr. Rampton has just said) comes from checking
48 with the Registrar of the Court of Appeal himself
49 yesterday.
50
51 MS. STEEL: Right, yes.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: So, if you are running into any difficulty
54 with any step you want to take, either with an office
55 related to the High Court or the Court of Appeal, mention
56 it to me and we will see if the problems can be solved.
57
58 MR. MORRIS: Can I say, before we call a witness, I have found
59 the document called Practice.
60
