Day 171 - 11 Oct 95 - Page 27
1
2 If I can just say some general summing-up points. I think
3 the way the application has developed, that we have
4 co-operated with the intent of limiting unnecessary volume
5 of documents, while keeping enough documents so that it is
6 a useful sample or relevant for the relevant times. But in
7 some ways this is bit of a unique situation, because this
8 kind of detailed look into a store has not been achieved at
9 any other store in the country and, therefore, it will help
10 with all the evidence on employment issues to have these
11 kind of documents available for the court to be able to
12 peruse or study.
13
14 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What you say is that your witness in this case
15 concentrates, in fact, on 1993 to 1994, which is fairly
16 recent, so there is a good prospect of there being relevant
17 documents there, which applies much less to some of the
18 others -- for instance, in Colchester, we are nearly 10
19 years ago -- and, apart from what Mr. Alimi kept, you are
20 limited as to documentation. You want to be able to argue
21 -- whether you are successful or not -- that if you press
22 home your claims with regard to Bath, I can draw inferences
23 generally; and that is a point of argument, and I am not
24 going to give any indication at this stage. It is far too
25 early to have formed a view, anyway. But that is the way
26 you put your case?
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28 MR. MORRIS: Yes. Actually -- yes, OK.
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30 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Mr. Rampton, I am sorry to take you out of
31 your turn, but can you help me as to where we stand on the
32 technicalities of the application, because the way we are
33 doing the discovery applications as we go along in this
34 case is rather unlike a normal discovery application which
35 is done in chambers, that is to say, before the case
36 actually starts, and it seems to me that what I am asked to
37 decide is whether the documents in question appear to be
38 relevant, first of all, whether they relate to an issue or
39 matter, and then, even if they do, whether nevertheless
40 I conclude that their production is not necessary for the
41 fair and economic, fair disposal of the case or saving of
42 cost. Is that the correct approach?
43
44 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I am sure it is the correct approach; and
45 I do not believe the fact that we are not in chambers and
46 the fact that it comes now has any technical objection
47 implied in it. It has this advantage, indeed, one might
48 think -- I would submit that it did -- that your Lordship
49 is now in a far better position to see the wood from the
50 trees (which I respectfully suggest the Defendants do not
51 yet do) and so to decide the second part of that question
52 "is this really necessary" in a much more precise way than
53 you could ever do before the case had begun and
54 your Lordship had not had literally months of evidence
55 about employment.
56
57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I am actually doing if I make an order is
58 saying that should be produced if it exists; no business of
59 this and then -- we are compressing it all, are we not? I
60 mean, this may all be simple, but I just want to make sure
