Day 142 - 26 Jun 95 - Page 67
1 possibly imagine at the moment -- that is one of the
2 reasons why I asked that I should get it before the
3 weekend. I am not saying I need it any earlier than that,
4 but what I do not want is that the Defendants should turn
5 up on Monday clutching something which I need to absorb.
6
7 MR. JUSTICE BELL: As I understood it, Ms. Steel, when you
8 mentioned the nutrition matter, you were mentioning that
9 with a view to saying you do not want to deal with that
10 just yet anyway.
11
12 MS. STEEL: Unless it is complete, but obviously if we do not
13 manage to get it done in time to hand it to Mr. Rampton
14 before the weekend, we would not expect him to have to
15 argue it.
16
17 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No. What you would then have to decide is
18 whether it is a matter which must be dealt with before the
19 vacation and, if so, how long it will take to deal with it,
20 bearing in mind that it seems to me only fair that you
21 should hand your skeleton argument over a few days before
22 we actually have the argument.
23
24 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, can I say one other thing? When a list
25 of topics for interlocutory argument is presented on either
26 side -- I hope it is clear what this one is talking about
27 -- I am not asking that there should be summonses or
28 anything like that, but it is no good, in my respectful
29 submission, people trying, as it were, to cover up what the
30 real point is by being opaque in what they put on the list.
31
32 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No, what I said -- I think Mr. Morris was on
33 his feet so I said it to him -- if you can on your list
34 give what the topic is and without it any way being a
35 skeleton argument just, I think I said, one sentence of
36 elaboration of what you have in mind.
37
38 MR. RAMPTON: What it is they are actually after is what I need
39 to know.
40
41 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, absolutely. That is what I tried to
42 indicate before. So, without making it in any way an
43 order, what I would indicate is that I would like you to
44 produce such a list with what the topic is, and then a line
45 or a sentence on what it is you are actually aiming for
46 before close of play on Wednesday which gives you --
47 I think I heard you say to Ms. Steel you might talk about
48 it tomorrow evening -- tomorrow to sort that out.
49
50 If we have spare time on Thursday after Mr. Stein has
51 completed his evidence, I will give Mr. Rampton an
52 opportunity to deal with whatever he feels he can deal with
53 in the rest of that day on his list. We will then go over
54 to Monday to continue the interlocutory arguments and we
55 can talk on Thursday evening about whether Mr. Rampton
56 continues or you start afresh on Monday; it just depends
57 how far we have got, if anywhere.
58
59 By the time you leave the court on Thursday, if you are
60 here, or by Thursday lunch time if not, I would like
