Day 084 - 07 Feb 95 - Page 20


     
     1        matters in relation to Preston which you did not, in fact,
     2        plead, and which you are now finding yourselves potentially
     3        barred from calling evidence about, then you must point
     4        them out to me.
     5
     6   MS. STEEL:  But I think this is the point that Dave is making;
     7        that further points that we wanted to make from that report
     8        are relevant to the original pleading of meat being
     9        responsible for the majority of cases of food poisoning.
    10
    11   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  But the fact is they are not pleaded at the
    12        moment, you see.
    13
    14   MS. STEEL:  It is.  It is questions about cooking temperatures
    15        and meat and things like that which is -- it is the causes,
    16        so it is in the pleadings already.
    17
    18   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  But they are not there.  Everything you have
    19        alleged about Preston in the pleading is at the moment
    20        admitted.  Do not continue the argument now.  It is five to
    21        1.00.  We will break off.  We will resume with Mr. Atherton
    22        at 2 o'clock.  But do consider the position logically as
    23        I have done my best to explain my understanding of it.
    24
    25        If you think that you should, for instance, have had in the
    26        paragraphs about Preston or an additional paragraph:
    27         "Because the cooking temperatures were not high enough",
    28        I do not know whether that is what you have in mind, but if
    29        there is something like that, then you have to consider
    30        whether you want to add something of that kind.
    31
    32        What you have to do is go through the exercise of thinking
    33        what extra it is in relation to Preston because that is
    34        what we are talking about, the admission in relation to
    35        Preston, at the moment, what extra matter of fact it is
    36        which you would like to get in.
    37
    38   MS. STEEL:  The reason that I do not understand this is because
    39        it has been accepted by Mr. Rampton (and, I believe, by
    40        you) that we are entitled to ask questions about how
    41        seriously they are taking it, and what steps they have
    42        taken to prevent this kind of thing.  This is exactly the
    43        kind of thing that we were trying to get at when we were
    44        asking questions about that document.  I really just do not
    45        understand why it is necessary to waste more time pleading
    46        something that is, basically, in the pleadings already.
    47
    48   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think if you want to go into Preston
    49        further, you really ought to identify what it is additional
    50        that you want to allege about.  The point is objection has 
    51        been taken now.  When we were arguing about BSE, as we 
    52        found out in relation to that compared with diabetes, if 
    53        objection is taken either by Mr. Rampton on behalf of the
    54        Plaintiffs or by either of you on your own account, I must
    55        rule on it according to the law.
    56
    57        I have said this more than once before.  I am not,
    58        essentially, going to go hunting throughout this case to
    59        find what either side might have objected to, if they
    60        chose, and then start taking the objections for them.

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