Day 087 - 10 Feb 95 - Page 30
1 earlier. The fact that a counter notice has been served
2 means that the Civil Evidence Act notice statement goes
3 into limbo until such time as it is seen, whether or not
4 the witness appears in court. It may stay in limbo forever
5 if your Lordship is not satisfied with the Defendants'
6 reasons for not calling the witness having received a
7 counter notice.
8
9 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What practical difficulty is there in you
10 serving any counter notice by a week today?
11
12 MR. RAMPTON: Just because I need time to think about it.
13 I have not read the report. I have an awful lot else to do
14 rather more urgent than that, a lot of it, and I really
15 would not want to be under that kind of time pressure. A
16 week today is only next Friday. I would be calling
17 evidence all of next week. A fortnight today, that I can
18 comfortably live with because at least we have, in theory,
19 some of the following week off. It is not the sort of
20 decision one lightly makes, particularly -----
21
22 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What is the difficulty about making the
23 decision? I have every sympathy with the demands of a
24 heavy case and the demands on one's time.
25
26 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I am not willing to say what difficulties
27 might arise until I have had a chance of considering the
28 report, thinking whether I want that person down here or
29 whether I prefer just to have a Civil Evidence Act Notice
30 on it. I need to discuss it with my solicitors and with my
31 clients. Also, I am in this impossible position at the
32 moment, that at present the whole statement is inadmissible
33 because it is irrelevant, or probably is, and I do not how
34 the Defendants will, as it were, rejig their case yet again
35 to try to get it in. I do not know what allegation it is
36 that I have to deal with in relation to Preston.
37
38 If I am to be allowed less time to serve a counter notice
39 thus deciding, in effect, that the witness should be called
40 because he or she is in England -- she it is, I think, in
41 this case -- then by the same token the Defendants should
42 produce their proposed amendment before I have to make that
43 decision.
44
45 MR. MORRIS: We are happy for the Plaintiffs to have two weeks
46 because the week after next in any event is not going to be
47 any new witnesses, so, effectively, it does not matter in
48 terms of cross-examination.
49
50 MR. RAMPTON: But, my Lord, what I do say is that if I do not
51 have the Defendants' proposed amendment in relation to
52 Preston before it is time for me to serve a counter notice
53 on Friday the whatever it is, then I shall apply to your
54 Lordship for leave to extend my time in accordance with my
55 entitlement under the rules.
56
57 MR. MORRIS: I mean, we are hoping to get the amendment. We
58 have done some draft and we are going to discuss it at
59 lunch-time in any event. I mean, I just think that all the
60 pressure is being put on us all the time.
