Day 263 - 14 Jun 96 - Page 36


     
     1   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, can I tell your Lordship -- I believe
     2        this is something your Lordship ought to know.  Perhaps
     3        I had better put it like this: it would be my intention to
     4        tell your Lordship how many meetings there were for which
     5        I have proffered evidence at which another inquiry agent
     6        was present whom I do not offer as a witness but -----
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  How does that come in?
     9
    10   MR. RAMPTON:  If it was a ton of material, it does not really
    11        come in.  I do not know, it might affect your Lordship's
    12        thinking.  I do not particularly want to do it.  I would
    13        not want to do it ------
    14
    15   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I see, yes.  I might as well know that, on
    16        the basis that were I to say that privilege had been waived
    17        in respect of any notes or reports in respect of meetings
    18        in relation to which you have or do propose to adduce
    19        evidence -- that is what you propose to tell me?
    20
    21   MR. RAMPTON:  Yes.  But I would like, if I am going to do that,
    22        to do it at the resumption, because it has just occurred to
    23        me that your Lordship might find it helpful, but I do not
    24        want to do it without taking instructions.
    25
    26   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I do not need to know.  All I need to know is
    27        that it would not be an academic exercise, because one then
    28        promptly says, "Oh, well, there are not any other notes
    29        anyway."
    30
    31   MR. RAMPTON:  Maybe I can just put it like this: it is not an
    32        academic exercise, but the number of occasions involved is
    33        not very much.
    34
    35   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  There we are.
    36
    37   MR. MORRIS:  It might be useful also to know how many meetings
    38        in total of all the agents the Plaintiffs -----
    39
    40   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No.  It is not relevant to the ruling I make
    41        now.  I have to make the ruling.  The only point is this:
    42        there would be no point in me saying, well, there was
    43        privilege in relation to what the inquiry agents observed
    44        at meeting X, but since they are calling a witness in
    45        relation to that and he has produced his notes, that has
    46        waived privilege in respect of any other inquiry agent's
    47        notes in relation to meeting X.  This would all be very
    48        interesting, but completely pointless if there was no other
    49        inquiry agent there who had not made any other notes.  All
    50        that Mr. Rampton is saying is that if that were the 
    51        conclusion I reached, then there would be some further 
    52        discovery forthcoming, in effect.  I do not need to know 
    53        the extent of it.  That is not what I am asking.
    54
    55   MR. MORRIS:  I think Mr. Rampton is trying to set the terms of
    56        where your judgment should go.
    57
    58   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, he is not.
    59
    60   MR. RAMPTON:  No, not at all.

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