Day 001 - 28 Jun 94 - Page 32


     
     1        word taken from the one of the defendants' documents --
              McDonald's, no matter what sacrifice or truth or fairness,
     2        simply because McDonald's was an obvious and convenient
              target for the defendants' deep rooted antipathy to
     3        capitalism.
 
     4        My Lord, next justification:  I will say, my Lord, as
              little about this defence as I already have about fair
     5        comment, partly because I have already briefly indicated
              in going through the leaflet why on the plaintiffs' view
     6        of the case that defence is doomed to failure.  But there
              are two other reasons why it can be dealt with in short
     7        order at this stage in this case.  The first is this, as
              your Lordship will know, much of the defence consists of
     8        repetition of allegations made about other people on other
              occasions perhaps in a book or newspapers or television
     9        programme or Trade Union bulletin.
 
    10        My Lord, in so far as -- I stress those words -- the
              defendants are able to adduce admissible evidence in an
    11        attempt to prove the truth of those allegations, then they
              raise the legitimate issues which your Lordship will have
    12        to resolve in due course.  I refrain from making any
              prediction how that will turn out at this stage.
    13
              However, my Lord, as your Lordship may feel, in a large
    14        number of instances the defendants have so far produced no
              indication whatsoever that their allegations are supported
    15        by any evidence at all.  In consequence, unless the
              position changes dramatically during the course of the
    16        trial (which it may), a large part of the defence will
              simply fall away and your Lordship will not be troubled to
    17        make any decision about it at all.
 
    18        For that reason, amongst others, it would be not be a
              useful employment of your Lordship's and the court's time
    19        to go through those allegations at this stage.
 
    20        Secondly, my Lord, as I have said, McDonald's business has
              been in existence for nearly 40 years and now covers 70
    21        countries and 14,000 restaurants throughout the world; yet
              in three particulars areas, at least, food poisoning,
    22        advertising and the alleged mistreatment of employees, the
              allegations pleaded in support of the worldwide
    23        generalisation about McDonald's practices asserted in the
              leaflet, your Lordship may feel, amount against the
    24        background of McDonald's' size and length of existence to
              proof of really nothing at all.  One swallow or even 20
    25        swallows do not make a summer when the year is 40 years
              long. 
    26 
              Perhaps, if they prove anything, those particular 
    27        allegations, it is this, that no-one is perfect, no
              company is perfect; that accidents may happen even in the
    28        best of households.  That is a proposition which, as your
              Lordship will hear, McDonald's readily accept.
    29
              Then I come to the counter claim.  As Mr. Morris so
    30        helpfully announced in court this morning, the defendants
              have recently made a counterclaim against the second

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