Day 174 - 17 Oct 95 - Page 56
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2 MR. MORRIS: We are entitled to put to him also what the
3 Plaintiffs' witnesses have said.
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5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Let us have a look.
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7 MR. RAMPTON: He is section 9 of Volume II. Your Lordship will
8 find two statements there, one dated 27th July and a
9 supplementary with some addenda which was made -- it is not
10 dated -- oh, yes, it is dated 1st March 1995, and was made
11 following a visit to a McDonald's restaurant, I think. In
12 fact, he went to two. He went to Mare Street in Hackney
13 and Seven Sisters during June 1995, and his second
14 statement deals, at least in part, with his visits to those
15 restaurants. It already runs to 25 paragraphs that second
16 statement, which is to be added to the nine paragraphs of
17 the first statement.
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19 MR. JUSTICE BELL: When did you last have contact with
20 Mr. Pearson about his evidence?
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22 MR. MORRIS: I am hoping to -- I have arranged a meeting with
23 him for next week to go through -- I have not actually
24 talked to him about his evidence; it was mainly just
25 getting hold of him and fixing a date for him to attend.
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27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do bear in mind what I said a few days ago.
28 This was not on Mr. Rampton's initiative, in fact it was on
29 mine, although Mr. Rampton has expressed anxiety about it,
30 and you will remember the reasons that I am not happy about
31 new matters coming in when the party who calls their
32 witnesses last has not given adequate notice of those
33 matters. In my view, it is not an answer to say, "Well,
34 some McDonald's witnesses introduced new matters of which
35 we have not had written notice". Even if that were so,
36 that answer does not provide a solution to the practical
37 problem that if your witnesses come in second, introduce
38 new matters, we have got to go through the whole rigmarole
39 of contemplating McDonald's witnesses in recall to give
40 evidence in rebuttal which, in a case which is taking as
41 long as this to get through anyway, is, I have to say, a
42 very unattractive prospect and I have tried to explain that
43 to you before. In fact, that is about the mildest way
44 I can possibly express it.
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46 So, if it is matters which have been given in evidence by
47 McDonald's witnesses and where you put matters to them in
48 cross-examination and all you are expecting is Mr. Pearson
49 to back up what you put in cross-examination, that is one
50 thing. I may have forgotten, but I cannot remember many
51 things which would fall into that category at the moment.
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53 I think you should make your two days for next week two of
54 Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, and by the time we come back
55 to court for those two days, whichever they are, you should
56 have contacted Mr. Pearson and made some notes as full as
57 you possibly can which you can hand over then of anything
58 extra -- if, indeed, there is anything -- which you expect
59 or would like to lead Mr. Pearson to.
60
