Day 248 - 13 May 96 - Page 47
1 awareness, is it not?
2 A. Yes.
3
4 MS. STEEL: I think I am more or less finished.
5
6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Just sit down and -----
7
8 MS. STEEL: Can I ask something, which is that in Mr. Preston's
9 evidence-in-chief he said various things which at the time
10 I made a note to ask him about, but which, because of the
11 amount of evidence we have had in the meantime, it seems a
12 bit kind of daft to go over them.
13
14 MR. JUSTICE BELL: If you think they have been superseded by
15 other evidence and you have challenged them there, unless
16 it is something which comes from Mr. Preston alone or his
17 own particular experience, there is no need to challenge
18 it.
19
20 MS. STEEL: OK. I think they have been dealt with by other
21 people. I just did not want to leave it so it looked like
22 we were not challenging what Mr. Preston was saying.
23 I will just check. (Pause).
24
25 MR. MORRIS: Just one question: We asked Mr. Beavers, when he
26 came originally, who had made the decision in the US
27 Corporation to bring the case, because the First Plaintiff
28 is the McDonald's Corporation, and he was not sure.
29 I think, when he came back, he said he thought it was you
30 who was the person responsible. In terms of the First
31 Plaintiff's decision to come on board the case, was that
32 based upon your advice?
33 A. My advice -- I certainly recommended that we proceed to
34 court given everything that I know. The people I dealt
35 with were my board of directors of the British company,
36 some of whom are principals in the Corporation.
37
38 Q. Is it four of them are also on the US board of directors?
39 A. Three.
40
41 Q. Three of them; OK.
42 A. So they were fully aware of what was transpiring.
43 I kept them abreast of the entire matter. We being a
44 wholly owned subsidiary work in tandem with the parent.
45
46 Q. Right.
47
48 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I assume as president and chief executive of
49 the Second Plaintiff of the UK company, you feel that you
50 have the authority to say to your solicitors, the Company's
51 solicitors, "start proceedings"?
52 A. Yes, sir.
53
54 Q. Do you feel that you have that authority for McDonald's
55 Corporation, the First Plaintiff, so far as litigation in
56 this country is concerned, or did some message come across
57 the Atlantic, "Join us as well"?
58 A. I do not know that it came across in that regard, "Put
59 us in it as well". They were certainly involved in the
60 decision process and said, "Yes, we are in this together.
