Day 036 - 13 Oct 94 - Page 64


     
     1        heard other evidence about that.
     2
     3        Moreover, you are calling evidence that McDonald's meals
     4        play a significant role in making the diets of a
     5        significant number of people high-in-fat and saturated fat
     6        and that McDonald's promote the greater consumption of
     7        such meals.  So, it might be thought that you have
     8        appreciated that a possible meaning of the leaflet was
     9        that "McDonald's sell meals which cause cancer of the
    10        breast and bowel and heart disease in their customers",
    11        which, you will appreciate, is a quote from the proposed
    12        amended Statement of Claim.
    13
    14        As I said earlier, I think you should give some thought as
    15        to what you say "linked with" means in the context of this
    16        leaflet if it does not mean "causes".  I say that to help
    17        you prepare your argument and take advice so that you can
    18        think fully about the matter.
    19
    20        I have this to add.  It would help me, I think, and by the
    21        way it might help you prepare yourselves, if Mr. Rampton
    22        or Mr. Atkinson were prepared to prepare a skeleton
    23        argument of what they contend the meanings are concerning
    24        nutrition and rearing and slaughter of animals, and why
    25        they contend for those meanings, and why they say, if they
    26        do say, that they are not changing their ground in seeking
    27        leave for the proposed amendments.  All I will say, I am
    28        not directing it, that would be helpful to me.
    29
    30   MR. RAMPTON:  We will add to that, if we may, an argument why,
    31        in our submission -- and it is long after it would
    32        normally be expected of a litigant who is legally
    33        represented in defamation proceedings -- why we shall
    34        invite your Lordship to rule that the Defendants must --
    35        not may but must -- state what their case is in relation
    36        to this aspect of the plea of justification.
    37
    38   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Include that in the skeleton so that
    39        Ms. Steel and Morris can see what your argument is going
    40        to be to that effect.
    41
    42        It would also help me if one can have in advance any
    43        references in the transcripts in the past to "causes"
    44        rather than "linked with".  In fact, I see that looking
    45        back at one of my own preliminary rulings I used the word
    46        "causes" in trying to summarise the Plaintiffs' case.
    47
    48   MR. RAMPTON:  We were going to look at the witness statements
    49        as originally served in July.  We were going to look at
    50        interlocutory hearings in the autumn of last year.  We 
    51        were going to look at the witness statements which were 
    52        served in January of this year, at the hearing in the 
    53        Court of Appeal in February/March of this year and what
    54        I said in opening.  We will do all of those things and
    55        give your Lordship and the Defendants the appropriate
    56        references.
    57
    58   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  The other matter which would help me (and
    59        this is really mostly directed to Mr. Rampton and
    60        Atkinson, though I will be pleased to hear anything which

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