Day 283 - 21 Oct 96 - Page 17


     
     1        position, that whenever they talk about McDonald's they
     2        talk about the whole chain which is governed by the
     3        operations manual and McDonald's supervisory system.
     4
     5        In the original pleadings - which no doubt I cannot    find
     6        - we did ask....  I could refer to them now.  Maybe you do
     7        not have them with you at the moment, I do not know.  We
     8        did ask in the further and better particulars, McDonald's
     9        replied, further and better particulars of the Statement of
    10        Claim, pursuant to request served 16th November 1990, we
    11        asked --
    12
    13   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   What was the date?
    14
    15   MR. MORRIS:   It was pursuant to a request served 16th November
    16        1990.  We asked: Of the first plaintiff is the proprietor
    17        of the well-known McDonald's restaurant chain.
    18
    19   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Pause a moment there.
    20
    21   MR. MORRIS:   This will not be in the abstract.
    22
    23   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   What number is the request?
    24
    25   MR. MORRIS:   It is in their further and better particulars.  It
    26        is the first one, request 1.
    27
    28   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, I have that.
    29
    30   MR. MORRIS:   Proprietor of the well-known McDonald's Restaurant
    31        chain McDonald's restaurant chain - and I emphasise the
    32        word "chain" - in the United States of America and
    33        throughout - and I emphasise the word "throughout" - the
    34        rest of the world.  Request 1:  "State whether it is the
    35        plaintiffs' case that the first plaintiff owns all
    36        restaurants worldwide trading under the name McDonald's".
    37        "If not, identify the relationship between the first
    38        plaintiff and every such restaurant."  And 3:  Further,
    39        explain what is meant by the term proprietor, basically.
    40
    41        And the answers are:  2, I suppose, is the most important
    42        one.  Ownership of the said restaurants fall within three
    43        different groups:  Subsidiaries of the first plaintiff,
    44        franchisees of the first plaintiff, and joint ventures
    45        owned by the first plaintiff and a partner.  So the first
    46        plaintiff has an interest in every single McDonald's
    47        restaurant in the world.
    48
    49        And the dictionary definition of the word "proprietor",
    50        according to the Chambers English Dictionary, is "an 
    51        owner".  So, so far as we are concerned, and so far as the 
    52        public is concerned, so far as 99 percent of the witness 
    53        evidence is concerned, the word McDonald's applies to all
    54        McDonald's stores worldwide, and that is what we have been
    55        talking about in this case.
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Just pause a moment.  Let us take a five
    58        minute break here.
    59
    60        One thing I would like you to focus on, because it is

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