Day 073 - 13 Jan 95 - Page 55
1 days, Monday 6th, Tuesday 7th and Wednesday 8th? He is
2 Mrs. Crawford's assistant.
3
4 MR. RAMPTON: Yes. He covers a lot of ground. He is
5 principally food safety. My Lord, I have given up giving
6 estimates. In my respectful submission, he should not be
7 more than two days, but I have allowed three days and he
8 has the rest of the week, if it is needed. One knows what
9 happens; one puts something else in there, particularly if
10 it is somebody from outside the company, one finds that
11 Mr. Kenny has not finished and then one has the dilemma:
12 Does Mr. Kenny go away or does the other person have to be
13 put off?
14
15 Again, I am in your Lordship's hands. I will schedule
16 people as far as we can wherever your Lordship thinks it is
17 right to do so, as to which the Defendants' input is only a
18 part. There is the convenience of the witnesses to be
19 considered as well as the overall length of the case.
20
21 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I appreciate that. The bottom line is that
22 if we do not reach a solution which pays some attention to
23 the interests of everyone, one just abandons it altogether,
24 and you call all your witnesses in a row and then the
25 Defendants call all theirs. I do not think that is a
26 satisfactory position to be forced into.
27
28 MR. RAMPTON: I have never submitted it was because, to be
29 honest, I do not believe the Defendants could cope with
30 that. That is the reason I never proposed it.
31 Mrs. Brinley-Codd has said -- I endorse it -- that it is
32 absolute madness to put anybody in on Friday 10th or even
33 the 9th. It is much better the Defendants have another day
34 or another two days to get ready for the next week which is
35 Mr. Bowes and Dr. Pattison. I do not know what your
36 Lordship is proposing for the week of the 20th?
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I was proposing that we have not more than
39 two days working during that week. If you call
40 Mr. Chambers on Monday 20th, going into Tuesday 21st, or if
41 Mr. Morris said, "No, if I have to be at court" or "let the
42 case go on without me for two working days", if that were
43 the choice, I would prefer a witness to be in on the
44 Thursday or Friday. It has to be two days at the beginning
45 or the end. The alternative, Mr. Rampton, is to have the
46 whole of that week off, as much as you dislike the idea,
47 then get a straight run for Mr. Gomez Gonzales through the
48 following week with Mr. Chambers if he is available to be
49 put in on Monday 6th.
50
51 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, yes. This does to some extent depend on
52 Mr. Chambers' availability.
53
54 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I would like you, if you would, to ask
55 Mr. Chambers if he can cover those two days.
56
57 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, obviously I will not argue with your
58 Lordship, but if in addition to the three weeks they have
59 just had and the five days they are about to have at the
60 end of next week and beginning of the week after, they get
