Day 311 - 06 Dec 96 - Page 56
1 what the judgment is going to do to us to make a discount
2 or offset in the damages, in addition to which, which we
3 will come back to next week, Mr. Atkinson thinks there is
4 actually a case in the Court of Appeal which says the judge
5 must not do that.
6
7 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, I would be grateful if I can have that.
8
9 MR. RAMPTON: Sure? No, I said 'he thinks'.
10
11 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
12
13 MR. RAMPTON: For all the reasons your Lordship has given-----
14
15 MR. JUSTICE BELL: If there is one I would welcome reference to
16 it. The next matter is this: in paragraph 6 I have
17 actually read through John again, and of course one of the
18 points which the then Master of the Rolls, now Lord Chief
19 Justice, in delivering the judgment of the court made was
20 that there has been precious little said by the Court of
21 Appeal about actual awards of damages. So there is not
22 much.
23
24 MR. RAMPTON: Not much to go on.
25
26 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I do not suppose you can refer me to any
27 comparable case which is not a jury decision which helps?
28
29 MR. RAMPTON: I will tell your Lordship this, which I do know,
30 we have not put it before your Lordship because we do not
31 think it is strictly comparable or even sufficiently
32 comparable to help your Lordship. We do know a case called
33 Upjohn v the BBC and Another which I am sure your Lordship
34 has heard of.
35
36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am not sure I do not have a copy of
37 Mr. Justice May's judgment somewhere.
38
39 MR. RAMPTON: That is fine.
40
41 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I have probably lost it. What did that say?
42
43 MR. RAMPTON: I do not know what the judgment said, but it was a
44 claim by a pharmaceutical company.
45
46 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It was not dissimilar to this case in some
47 respects.
48
49 MR. RAMPTON: In some respects.
50
51 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Halcyon sued, among others, a professor for
52 saying nasty things, or rather Upjohn sued.
53
54 MR. RAMPTON: Halcyon has many properties.
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: An arm of the media and a professor saying
57 things about Halcyon, which is one of their preparations.
58 Upjohn had also said unkind things about the professor in
59 his good faith, so he counterclaimed, as the Defendants
60 have done here, and Upjohn succeeded and got damages but
