Day 020 - 28 Jul 94 - Page 26
1 more important that there be advance notice then because
Mr. Rampton should really have them before he starts
2 examining in-chief.
3 MS. STEEL: I did not think we had to.
4 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, very definitely so.
5 MR. RAMPTON: I have mentioned this before, but I will, if
I may, make an observation at this stage. It is not the
6 defendants' fault that they do not understand it. I make
no criticism of them at all. I know your Lordship knows
7 this, but I say it so the defendants may understand what
I, at any rate, believe to be the proper practice. It is
8 permissible in relation to credit and credit only.
9 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, we are not talking about that now.
10 MR. RAMPTON: We are talking about the issue, so any document
which is relevant to an issue must be disclosed in time so
11 that I have a chance, before Dr. Gregory gives his
evidence, to go through it and then go through it in his
12 evidence.
13 MS. STEEL: If that is the case, it is still the fact that we
keep getting documents two seconds before the witness
14 goes into the witness box.
15 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I want you to be aware of from now on
is that if you are cross-examining an expert as to his or
16 her opinion or view of matters (which is what you are
doing with Dr. Gregory and what you will clearly be doing
17 in the future in the autumn), if you are going to put a
document of any kind and, particularly, if it is a paper
18 which you say contains an expert view of its own, the
other side are to have it comfortably before the expert is
19 called in-chief, so he or she can consider it and the
plaintiffs' lawyers can consider it before he or she goes
20 into the witness box, because it is a long time ago now
since it was thought right that one should be able to
21 spring a report on the witness in cross-examination.
22 I happen to think it will probably be too much to expect
you to be able to stick 100 per cent to that, because you
23 are clearly getting assistance from other people. One of
those may have suddenly put into your hands a document,
24 and I do not suppose Mr. Rampton will be immune from one
of his experts suddenly remembering or thinking of some
25 other paper which may help. So it is probably going to be
a two way thing, but, as a matter of policy and normal
26 procedure, you should do your best to marshal your
documents and experts' reports and serve them before the
27 witness you want to put them to goes into the witness box
at all. Do you understand?
28
MS. STEEL: We will try, but I think that should also apply to
29 the plaintiffs. We keep getting documents off them right
at the last minute.
30
MR. JUSTICE BELL: Maybe. It does not matter because it occurs
