Day 139 - 21 Jun 95 - Page 41
1 MR. MORRIS: I think the witness was going to say something
2 about -----
3
4 MR. RAMPTON: I am sorry. Before Mr. Morris asks any further
5 questions, I want to make a formal objection to this sort
6 of cross-examination, based on what the Court of Appeal has
7 said in this case. If Mr. Morris is going to persist in
8 trying to find particulars of cases he does not know about,
9 by reference to an inadmissible document, without a
10 pleading or a witness statement, then I wish to make a
11 formal objection.
12
13 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I hoped you would see the good sense of what
14 I have just said. If you are going to pursue it, if you
15 are not minded to agree with what I have just said, if you
16 are going to pursue this, you must do it by showing me how
17 you pass Neil's LJ test for making an allegation against
18 McDonald's in this respect.
19
20 MR. MORRIS: The witness was going to say about, at other times,
21 there had been, New York -----
22
23 MR. RAMPTON: I am sorry, my Lord. This will not do.
24
25 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You cannot ask the question.
26
27 MR. MORRIS: I do not see why the truth is something that you
28 should be frightened of.
29
30 MR. RAMPTON: I am not frightened of it. I am frightened that
31 Mr. Stein may not catch his aeroplane next Friday.
32
33 MR. MORRIS: He will catch is aeroplane on Friday. We have
34 already established that he will.
35
36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not bother, Mr. Rampton. I have ruled in
37 your favour.
38
39 MR. RAMPTON: Well, my Lord, Mr. Morris pays no attention to
40 your Lordship's rulings.
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL: He will now. Unless he has persuaded me that
43 he can bring in an allegation which relates to a particular
44 place, on the information which he has at present, he
45 cannot ask further questions on this topic; and he cannot
46 improve the situation by saying: "The witness might have
47 been about to say something which might have given me some
48 basis for it."
49
50 MR. RAMPTON: Can I state my position succinctly, without
51 reference to the judgment? It is this: I understand the
52 Court of Appeal to say that you can plead something if you
53 believe it to be true and you have reasonable grounds for
54 that belief. So, on the pleading, you can try and
55 establish your case by cross-examination.
56
57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Or reasonable grounds for supposing that you
58 will find some evidence to support it.
59
60 MR. RAMPTON: Yes. So in that case, there has to be a pleading.
