Day 008 - 07 Jul 94 - Page 73
1 MR. RAMPTON: The problem is this. I am discussing
hypothesis. If I should come back to your Lordship and
2 tell your Lordship on Monday -- sorry, tomorrow, whenever
I first find out -- that in fact those people can do that
3 week, I ask the question, where does that leave the case?
This is a time of year, as your Lordship knows, when
4 academics tend to disappear to the United States for
conferences. For all I know, they delayed their
5 departures for those events in order to give evidence in
this case on these given dates.
6
MR. JUSTICE BELL: You will have to, or Mrs. Brinley-Codd will
7 have to, find out. But I am determined, if I possibly
can, to give the defendants a few days before we start
8 nutrition. I am not going to be more precise than that.
Quite apart from what is in their interests, I think it
9 could very well be counter productive ---
10 MR. RAMPTON: I agree.
11 MR. JUSTICE BELL: - if I try to compress the further
preparation they need to make into too short a timescale.
12
MR. RAMPTON: I accept that. The other thing -- I know the
13 defendants will not think anything of this -- but in a
case of this character -- I know McDonald's is an
14 enormously big corporation -- I do not want to talk about
insignificant things -- but time is money, and the longer
15 it goes on -- I know it does not matter to the defendants;
they may be very pleased about it -- the longer it goes on
16 the more money it costs McDonald's.
17 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am not going to hear any more argument
about this this afternoon. I want people to go away and
18 think about it. I am certainly not going to just give you
a couple of days before we start nutrition. You are going
19 to get more than that. To my mind, the issue is probably
whether we can usefully start nutrition towards the end of
20 next week or the beginning of the last week in term, or
whether it has to go over to September. Those are the
21 three choices.
22 MR. MORRIS: Just one extra point. There is the response to
the counterclaim; that will be, I believe, by Friday
23 15th. That may raise some issues. It needs to be
considered because every witness after that---
24
MR. JUSTICE BELL: Take it step by step. I am bearing in mind
25 that whatever you say you must know quite a lot about your
nutrition case, having come this far along the road, and
26 what I want to do is give you what I think, doing fairness
between both parties, both sides, is sufficient to get
27 ready to make a fair fist of cross-examination insofar as
you can of the plaintiffs' witness on nutrition before we
28 start it.
29 MR. MORRIS: It would be useful if the plaintiffs could maybe
do a redraft of the schedule.
30
MR. RAMPTON: No, I cannot possibly do that until I have spoken
