Day 270 - 28 Jun 96 - Page 33
1 cross-examination with each of them. Again, that is not a
2 guarantee. If I ran to four, they would have to live with
3 it, if your Lordship would permit it.
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. My only concern is that we do finish
6 the evidence by -- when does Charlie's term end?
7
8 MR. MORRIS: My son's term, I cannot remember, to be honest.
9
10 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I think it is Friday the 19th, in fact.
11 I know that because I check it against the day on which
12 I----
13
14 MR. JUSTICE BELL: My main concern is that we finish the
15 evidence in the middle of next month. If it can be done by
16 Thursday the 18th or Friday the 19th, so much the better
17 because of your own arrangements, because if we do not we
18 have just got to go on. There is no question of having a
19 long vacation break then, with just a tiddly bit of
20 evidence to come, even if it may be important evidence.
21
22 So, for those very practical reasons, it is very important
23 to finish the evidence in the middle of next month.
24 Provided that can be done, I am fairly relaxed about having
25 short days because, having got this far through the
26 evidence in the case, short days are just further
27 preparation time and everyone is going to have a
28 considerable amount of preparation time. At the moment I
29 have in mind until about the beginning of the autumn term
30 in order to prepare or carry on with the preparation of
31 submissions.
32
33 So, with those factors in mind, provided everyone is
34 confident that we will finish the evidence in the middle of
35 next month, I am content to have just Mr. Brett on Monday
36 and Mr. Gravett on Tuesday. If he runs over into
37 Wednesday, then he has to run over, but it is obviously
38 hoped that that can be avoided. Mr. Smith on Wednesday,
39 Ms. Lapporte on Thursday; both Mr. Brooke and Mr. Moseley
40 for Friday, if you propose to call them. Then I will be
41 content that we do not start Ms. Steel's evidence until
42 Monday the 8th.
43
44 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, on that basis, if we are going to get
45 preparation time throughout next week, which quite
46 obviously we are, the evidence of the Defendants ought to
47 run seamlessly through -- that sounds like a hostage to
48 fortune -- but it ought to run seamlessly through and ought
49 to finish sometime in the middle of the week beginning the
50 15th.
51
52 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I hope that that is the way it falls out.
53 The only other matter is this. I have only looked very
54 quickly at this. I will take it away and read it, the
55 Notice of Intention to Apply for Leave to Issue Third
56 Party. I merely say this now while Mr. Rampton is here in
57 case he does not come back at 2 o'clock and Mr. Atkinson
58 represents McDonald's interests while you read Civil
59 Evidence Act statements, two things: Firstly, an
60 application to issue third party proceedings is not a
