Day 171 - 11 Oct 95 - Page 39
1 dealt with everything else. I hope I have. Our problem
2 there, I believe, is a somewhat different one. Whereas it
3 may be that notes of rap sessions (of which your Lordship
4 has one specimen already) give an indication of the kinds
5 of questions which the Company thinks it important to ask,
6 a big question, we would suggest, is: how much help does
7 your Lordship derive from seeing the answers, whether they
8 are answers at Bath or at Putney or at Sidcup or at Epsom,
9 or wherever else in the country or, indeed, the world one
10 might like to think of? The reason for that is
11 straightforward: the rap sessions take place maybe twice a
12 year -- in some places less often, I think, and some places
13 more often. They are conducted by an outsider to the
14 restaurant. They involve maybe ten, sometimes fewer,
15 sometimes more, members of the crew at any given time. The
16 members of the crew are anonymous so far as the restaurant
17 is concerned. One wonders what assistance the Defendants
18 can derive, since the notes of the rap session, as opposed
19 to the questions, are not and can never be evidence
20 admissible against the Plaintiffs, whatever they might say.
21
22 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. I will essentially look at the
23 application on the basis of whether Mr. Morris, speaking
24 for himself and Ms. Steel, is invited to have discovery,
25 but I have also, as it is apparent from what I have said,
26 seen whether it might help me anyway. One of the
27 allegations which is made against McDonald's is that the
28 system is such that the employees are too cowed to raise
29 any kind of complaint, or that it is just not the way of
30 the world for the foot soldiers to go around complaining
31 about the NCOs and commissioned officers; they do not do
32 that.
33
34 MR. RAMPTON: Can I help by -----
35
36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It occurs to me that it might be useful in one
37 way or another; it might help Mr. Morris in some way by the
38 Peruvian Guano test, at least; for all I know, it would
39 help McDonald's. I just do not know. It would be rather
40 interesting to see them, that is all.
41
42 MR. RAMPTON: I am not sure your Lordship's first proposition is
43 right, that it would help Mr. Morris by the Peruvian Guano
44 test, for the very reason that there is no identity given
45 to the people. So he really hits the buffers there. That
46 is why I say they cannot and never could become admissible
47 as evidence, because it could never be a witness. That is
48 the first thing.
49
50 I am not so much concerned about that. Can I help
51 your Lordship to make a decision about this. Once again,
52 although I believe that I have a decent legal argument why
53 these are not disclosable, since no true relevance has been
54 demonstrated for them, at the same time my very strong
55 feeling is that wherever possible I would like to help
56 your Lordship with as much material as I can, and as
57 I think I have done throughout the case, to reach a proper
58 conclusion. Can I therefore reveal a few of my cards?
59 I have read the rap session notes for 1993, 1994 and 1995
60 at Bath; and I add 1995 for a reason. What you find is, if
