Day 058 - 30 Nov 94 - Page 34
1 A. I do not find any difficulty with this paper at all, my
2 Lord. It seems to me it that it only indicates that people
3 have been talking about it, doing it and then formed
4 themselves together to have a quite positive and very
5 specific declaration of intent in 1992.
6
7 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Let us break off there and resume at
8 2 o'clock.
9
10 (Luncheon adjournment)
11 2.00 p.m.
12
13 MS. STEEL: I just wanted to ask something about the figures
14 from Mr. Thompson.
15
16 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
17
18 MS. STEEL: And about getting some kind of a statement from him,
19 maybe a Civil Evidence Act statement, and then if we need
20 to take it any further we can raise it then.
21
22 MR. RAMPTON: No, my Lord. I resist that. I am not going to
23 stimulate McDonald's to take the trouble to do that. An
24 expert like Mr. Mallinson is quite entitled to rely on
25 information supplied to him by other people. I do not
26 believe myself that the issue to which Mr. Thompson's
27 evidence might be directed has any or any significant
28 significance in the case for it to be necessary for us to
29 get everything from Mr. Thompson. Mr. Thompson is in
30 Scotland. If the Defendants want to subpoena him, they can
31 try to do so.
32
33 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I have to say I am a bit concerned about that
34 because it is a factual basis of this expert evidence. If
35 there is an issue about areas of forests and so on, and if
36 the Defendants say (which they have not yet said), what
37 Ms. Steel said was Civil Evidence Act Notice in the first
38 place so that it can be looked at, where do I go from
39 there?
40
41 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, perhaps nowhere.
42
43 MR. JUSTICE BELL: In other words, you do not have any evidence
44 on this?
45
46 MR. RAMPTON: No, my Lord, but, to be quite honest, I am not
47 sure at the moment that I mind very greatly whether I do or
48 whether I do not, because the fact is, if we are right,
49 that the amount of sustainable forest which might be
50 required to provide McDonald's annual requirements, whether
51 in the United States or in Europe, if we are right about
52 the meaning of the leaflet, it really has nothing whatever
53 to do with the case whatever.
54
55 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is for you to take your stand. I am not
56 going to even approach suggesting how you conduct your own
57 case, Mr. Rampton. As long as you aware, as you obviously
58 are, at the end of the day if the Defendants say: "Well, we
59 do not accept the figures which were the foundation for
60 this calculation", I will just have to say, well, there we
