Day 253 - 21 May 96 - Page 45
1 going to be new to me.
2
3 MR. RAMPTON: It was new to me too.
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Without looking at any of the law, my
6 instinctive reaction is to find it easier to follow the
7 second point than the first. That is, the identification
8 of the dates and locations, but obviously I will hear what
9 you say to me about that, and all I am saying is that I
10 would like to deal with that on Thursday if it is possible
11 so I may be able to give a ruling before everyone goes away
12 for the Friday and then the legal vacation. If, with Mr.
13 Atkinson's help, you are able to hand in tomorrow a list of
14 any cases you hope to refer to, or text books, that would
15 obviously help me get ready for it.
16
17 MR. RAMPTON: We can certainly do that. I know the names of
18 them all. I just do not happen to have them.
19
20 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is a question of, if you can write them
21 down in however informal a fashion so I and the Defendants
22 can take them away tomorrow that would be helpful.
23
24 MR. RAMPTON: We will do that, my Lord.
25
26 The only other thing I would say is this, although it is no
27 doubt right that the Defendants' new pleading gives rise to
28 new issues, I am somehow surprised, to say the least, that
29 we have been offered nothing to support the new amendment
30 from their side. I do not know why it should be that they
31 should advance an amendment which appears to have, thus far
32 at least, no evidential foundation whatsoever.
33
34 I do appreciate, of course, that they have served Mrs.
35 Tiller's statement. Beyond that, I am in the dark and it
36 does seem to us a little unfair to say the least that we
37 should be expected to answer interrogatories to make
38 discovery etcetera, in relation to matters for which the
39 Defendants must have had a foundation at the time when they
40 drafted and got leave for that amendment.
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Without hearing Mr. Morris or Ms. Steel, what
43 it seems to me at the moment is that the claim for leave to
44 amend was based on what they said they could glean from
45 your witness statements and inferences which they said
46 might be drawn from them. In so far as it relies solely on
47 that, then obviously there is no further evidence
48 forthcoming.
49
50 In so far as their case under paragraph 9 or 9A relies in
51 addition to any inference they can ask me to draw from your
52 evidence as they anticipated it to be, in so far as it
53 relies upon evidence which they expect to give themselves,
54 or they expect witnesses of theirs to give, then they
55 should serve statements on you, but for all I know, at the
56 moment, there is not going to be any further evidence from
57 them or their witnesses because no statements have been
58 forthcoming. Is that not the correct assessment of the
59 situation?
60
