Day 139 - 21 Jun 95 - Page 60
1 and assistance but he had to move.
2
3 Q. But the decision to abandon Mr. Miller came after you left
4 your involvement in -- after you left the island?
5 A. McDonald's decision to not help Mr. Miller occurred
6 after I left the island?
7
8 Q. Sorry, your decision to withdraw all assistance to -- all
9 company assistance to Mr. Miller, you did make a decision,
10 did you not? At one point, "That is it; we are having
11 nothing to do with Mr. Miller and the Puerto Rican stores"?
12 A. That is correct. A decision of that nature was made,
13 yes.
14
15 Q. When was that decision made? Was that after -- while that
16 strike was on, was it, when the stores were closed?
17 A. The stores were never totally closed; they were
18 operating to some extent. That decision was made when the
19 stores were substantially operating, yet he would not move.
20
21 Q. But the dispute was continuing with the union?
22 A. Through the NLRB.
23
24 Q. When you said you went to Puerto Rico with someone who had
25 worked in Puerto Rico, who was that?
26 A. I cannot remember his name. He was a store manager
27 that then was working for one of our operators in New York
28 City and he had been a store manager at one of the stores
29 in Puerto Rico. His name was Miranda.
30
31 Q. OK, that is fine. Once you withdrew the Corporation's
32 support for Mr. Miller, he eventually -- you said, for
33 financial reasons, he closed the stores all down; was that
34 because you had withdrawn your support that he could not
35 continue effectively?
36 A. No. He continued for several months after we withdrew
37 our support, and he had not been making money and continued
38 not to be making a profit and closed his stores.
39
40 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just pause a moment. That is what you said
41 yesterday. Mr. Fred Turner had said that McDonald's
42 instructed you not to offer any further help to Mr. Miller?
43 A. That is correct, my Lord.
44
45 Q. And said that McDonald's would go ahead with the default
46 proceedings?
47 A. That is correct, my Lord.
48
49 Q. But, as I understand your evidence, what you are saying is
50 it was not the default proceedings which brought McDonald's
51 enterprise to an end; it was financial difficulties?
52 A. The court proceedings just dragged on. We had never
53 stopped them from the Gibson period and they had continued
54 on and they were just in the process; that did not stop him
55 at all.
56
57 Q. So his own financial situation beat you to the draw?
58 A. That is correct.
59
60 Q. If it had not done so, so far as you are aware, the default
