Day 169 - 04 Oct 95 - Page 49


     
     1        fairly say:  "I do not want anyone talking to the press,
     2        employees at all", and that would be perfectly
     3        justifiable.
     4
     5        If, on the other hand, it has something to hide and,
     6        therefore, says:  "No talking to the press", that would not
     7        be justifiable.  But that is the court cart and I am
     8        interested in the horse, am I not?  Which is right?  Is it
     9        because they have got something to hide, or is it because
    10        they are just forced into the position because of
    11        unjustifiably bad treatment in the past?  That is all I am
    12        saying.
    13
    14   MR. MORRIS:  The fact is the Company itself and its
    15        representatives spend one and a half billion dollars
    16        communicating their image and their position, but none of
    17        its employees are allowed to communicate to the media.
    18
    19   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  But we are back to the question I have just
    20        posed to you, I would suggest.  It is common ground, if, at
    21        the end of the day, you feel you have cogent evidence of
    22        various malpractices by McDonald's, then by all means say
    23        to me:  "That is why they do not want their employees
    24        talking to the press".  But that is the way round it is,
    25        insofar as it helps me at all.
    26
    27   MR. MORRIS (To the witness):  Can you remember any specific
    28        features of the store the West Ealing store at that time
    29        (and I do not mean later; I mean specifically in 1984 and
    30        1985), any specific things, either exceptionally positive
    31        or negative for the Company, that happened during that time
    32        or there was a practice at that time?
    33        A.  Within the West Ealing branch?
    34
    35   Q.   Yes, specifically?
    36        A.  I cannot remember anything that was particularly
    37        outstanding about West Ealing.  It was an average to well
    38        run store.
    39
    40   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Quite frankly, the silence says its own
    41        answer.
    42
    43   MR. MORRIS:  OK.  (To the witness):  You cannot remember any
    44        incidents or any particular positive thing that happened or
    45        anything particularly negative that happened?  I know it is
    46        a long time ago.  If you cannot remember, just say you
    47        cannot remember.  Any particular incident, any -----
    48        A.  Nothing that sort of stuck in my mind as being
    49        particularly different from any other store I visited.
    50 
    51   Q.   Right.  You are a franchisee at the moment? 
    52        A.  Yes. 
    53
    54   MR. MORRIS:  I know there are long silences.  Actually, I am
    55        saving quite a bit of time by not asking quite a few
    56        questions that I was going to ask.
    57
    58   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Just sit down for a moment, Mrs. French.  Can
    59        I say this, if ever there was a case for getting on to hear
    60        your witness, I would have thought it was this because, on

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