Day 171 - 11 Oct 95 - Page 41
1 where the letter which Mr. Richards has said he did see,
2 where it last was in the possession of the second
3 Plaintiff. Is there anything you would want to say about
4 that?
5
6 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, yes, I think I probably do. Mr. Richards
7 has said that he has seen it. It is Mr. Richards who has
8 been looking for it and cannot find it. The idea that he
9 should swear an affidavit and in any way he may have to
10 come back and give further sworn evidence does at first
11 sight seem to me a little bit excessive, if I may say.
12
13 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is just that if an employee did bother to
14 write a letter with a certain number of heads of complaint,
15 one would expect it to get to the restaurant manager at
16 least, and, if it has gone absent without leave, comment
17 might be made about that.
18
19 MR. RAMPTON: Well, it might be. If your Lordship says we must
20 do it, we will do it.
21
22 MR. JUSTICE BELL: On the sweeping under the carpet basis.
23
24 MR. RAMPTON: If that were really a fair comment on McDonald's
25 conduct, one would not find, as one has throughout this
26 case, that there were documents all over the place, none of
27 which, I am happy to say, on emergence I have been in the
28 least bit concerned about, they would all have been
29 destroyed as soon as the writ was issued.
30
31 MR. MORRIS: The documents we are concerned about are the ones
32 that do not appear.
33
34 MR. RAMPTON: I see. That is a helpful observation.
35
36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: All I am saying is, I can imagine that there
37 might be argument one day, one way or the other, at the end
38 of the day: how is it that a document like this is no
39 longer in existence -- this particular one?
40
41 MR. RAMPTON: All right. I am being told to shut up. It is not
42 a problem to do that. I have got the incident report forms
43 now, but they are on my chambers recycled sponge paper.
44
45 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am not going to make any order. I have made
46 an order as to the incident report forms, and it is a
47 matter of waiting and seeing what comes, it seems to me.
48
49 MR. RAMPTON: If anybody can read it, they are better off then
50 I am, because I certainly cannot. My Lord, that is all
51 I have to say.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. Just give me a moment, Mr. Morris. I do
54 not think I need ask you about number 1, on the basis that
55 anything else of relevance must be for the judgment of
56 Mr. Rampton, since you have not identified particular
57 documents apart from performance reviews and complaint
58 details; on that basis, although I will give a word
59 processed ruling so that you can have the full terms of it,
60 and Ms. Steel can have it as well, I propose to grant you
