Day 205 - 17 Jan 96 - Page 25
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2 MR. MORRIS: So these are not necessarily the best drafted
3 interrogatories of all time, but the basic -- is it being
4 argued that we are not allowed to ask interrogatories 2 and
5 3? I am not sure.
6
7 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I object to them; they do not relate to
8 anything that is pleaded.
9
10 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. What it seems to me at the moment is
11 that you are now seeking by interrogatories to get some
12 kind of evidence on an issue which I refused to let you
13 bring into the case in any event, for reasons which I gave
14 in that ruling.
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16 MR. MORRIS: If we deal with the rest of the matters?
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18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I suggest you deal with 4 to 10, because they
19 fall into the same category and then separately with 11.
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21 MR. MORRIS: They are just, basically, what we pleaded, word for
22 word. It is a photocopy of the application that we made.
23 So, as the Plaintiffs have made no discovery and refused to
24 answer a notice to admit, and Mr. Stein has written a
25 statement which, if I can find it, basically, in true
26 McDonald's fashion, completely fails to deal with the
27 point, what he says in his statement on each point is, and
28 every point without exception, at the end of his response
29 to our pleading: "Following enquiries by members of my
30 staff carried out at my request, I am able to say that
31 there is no record of the incident in the possession of the
32 First Plaintiff". Sorry, above that, he says: "I have no
33 knowledge of the alleged incident". That applies to every
34 single one.
35
36 So, he has no personal knowledge and the McDonald's
37 Corporation, presumably, has no record of it, but that does
38 not deal with the basic matter, whether it is true or not,
39 and whether McDonald's know or can know it is true, in
40 which case all they have to do, of course, is phone up the
41 store and find out what happened or contact their Area,
42 Regional Supervisors or Managers that are meant to monitor
43 all their stores and find out the details.
44
45 So, on interrogatories, basically, they cannot avoid
46 putting all their best efforts in to ensure that the facts
47 are established, in which case we can then just get on with
48 the case without having to call evidence or do any more
49 work on either side.
50
51 So, that is basically it.
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53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What do you say about 11?
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55 MR. RAMPTON: About that. My Lord ---
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57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No.
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59 MR. RAMPTON: -- again, I do not understand what more Mr. Stein
60 is supposed to do.
