Day 058 - 30 Nov 94 - Page 39
1
2 MR. RAMPTON: No, my Lord, I am sorry, this will not do. That
3 looks quite a substantial document. I made a request when
4 Mr. Mallinson was last here that we should be given a list,
5 at the very least, of Mr. Hopkins' references so that we
6 should be able to look at them in advance of
7 Mr. Mallinson's recall. We now find they are being dealt
8 out of Mr. Morris' sack in the usual way. It simply will
9 not do. It may be, like the last document, this is a
10 document of no significance. But Mr. Hopkins is supposed
11 to be an expert. Presumably, if he is an expert, he has
12 learned references to which he will want to make reference
13 when he gives evidence.
14
15 It is intolerable, in my submission, that halfway through
16 the cross-examination of my expert these documents are now
17 being pulled out of the sack. I would require, if
18 Mr. Mallinson is to be cross-examined about that document,
19 that I should be given the chance to read it and that
20 I should have, if I think it right with your Lordship's
21 leave, the opportunity to talk to Mr. Mallinson about it.
22
23 MS. STEEL: Early on in this case we made the Plaintiffs aware
24 of the fact that the references for Mr. Hopkins were
25 sitting in court and could be borrowed by them at any time.
26
27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You are supposed to serve them on the other
28 side or, at least, show them a list of them. Mr. Morris
29 did that in the middle of this morning. If they were in
30 court, presumably, a list could have been made and served
31 on the other side.
32
33 You see, I will tell you what my greatest concern is about
34 when this happens. Predictably, an objection is taken to
35 it because Mr. Rampton has not seen the document in
36 question. Predictably, if you insist on saying: "Well,
37 I want to put it to the witness", we end up having a break
38 while Mr. Rampton or Mr. Atkinson or Mrs. Brinley-Codd or
39 Mr. Hill or anyone else on McDonald's side of the court has
40 a look at it so they can be prepared.
41
42 That takes time, breaks into the witness's evidence and
43 this kind of discussion breaks into the witness's evidence,
44 and who is the person who pays at the end of the day? It
45 is not me, it may be as you keep saying a drop in the ocean
46 so far as McDonald's are concerned, it is just another day
47 in Mr. Rampton's professional life, it is a day out of your
48 life, but the person who really suffers is the witness who
49 really has nothing other than a general interest in the
50 result of the case, but does not get his evidence finished
51 by 4.15 on the afternoon of Wednesday, 30th November, has
52 to come back on another day and has to find time out of
53 things I am sure he would much rather be doing. That is
54 what most concerns me.
55
56 MS. STEEL: Exactly the same situation has arisen the other way
57 round. We keep getting told that there are documents in
58 court that we can look at.
59
60 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That does not help my anxiety about these
