Day 019 - 27 Jul 94 - Page 73
1
MR. JUSTICE BELL: Are there any of your procedural matters
2 which cannot wait until September?
3 MS. STEEL: Really, the further and better particulars of the
counterclaim. We do need to have some -----
4
MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I suggest we have not been notified what
5 the complaint is. The convenient thing, now that
Dr. Gregory is out of the witness box, might be if your
6 Lordship were willing to sit for another ten minutes to
deal with it now?
7
MS. STEEL: It is not -- I have not my papers about the
8 counterclaim with me.
9 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Can you give some general indication because
sometimes these things are solved without the judge
10 actually having to make a ruling?
11 MS. STEEL: Has anybody a spare copy I could borrow?
12 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just sit down for a moment, Ms. Steel. Take
your time to look through it. I will not ask you to argue
13 it, but if you can just give a short thumbnail sketch of
what you say is inadequate.
14
MS. STEEL: Right. This is just one point really. Some of
15 the questions have not been answered properly. We asked,
for example, to identify -- the plaintiffs have alleged
16 that we organised demonstrations and anti-McDonald's
fayres. We asked them to identify each demonstration
17 organised by either or both of us and in relation to each
such demonstration to identify the steps of organisation
18 taken by us. The answer the plaintiffs have given -----
19 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just point me to -----
20 MS. STEEL: The question is on page 25.
21 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
22 MS. STEEL: The answer is, "the precise steps must be known to
the defendants". The plaintiffs must know that is not the
23 proper way to answer a question. They have to plead their
case specifically, what steps they are alleging that we
24 took so we are able to meet the case and defend
ourselves. I mean, this has happened the other way around
25 when we said that they knew what their pay rates were. We
got ordered to say, well -----
26
MR. JUSTICE BELL: Let me read the whole answer. If you take
27 out the last two and a half lines because that may be
surplus, in fact. What do you complain about before
28 that? Suppose one just took out the last two and a half
lines. Suppose it said -----
29
MS. STEEL: I am in difficulty because I am really tired.
30 I have not prepared ----
