Day 311 - 06 Dec 96 - Page 41


     
     1        a bad one, even if one cannot identify what that motive
     2        actually was.
     3
     4   MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.  Thank you.  Paragraph 6 -- I do not have
     5        page numbers, I do not think ---
     6
     7   MR. RAMPTON:  No.  I am sorry about that.
     8
     9   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  -- on this section in malice.  The
    10        Defendants' introduction or attempted introduction into the
    11        case of issues and evidence which have nothing to do with
    12        the -----
    13
    14   MS. STEEL:   Where are we, paragraph 6?
    15
    16   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It is in brackets, at the top.
    17
    18   MR. RAMPTON:  It is page 6, in fact.
    19
    20   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  In fact, it is paragraph 12, sub-paragraph 6.
    21
    22   MS. STEEL:   Thank you.
    23
    24   MR. JUSTICE BELL: What, if any, weight can I attach to that if
    25        the fact is that your clients, for what may be perfectly
    26        good reasons of expediency, have not sought to strike them
    27        out at an earlier stage?
    28
    29   MR. RAMPTON:  If I were complaining about a waste of court time
    30        or of my clients' money, that would be one thing.  But this
    31        has a different purpose.  6 on page 6 goes hand in hand
    32        with 9 and 10 on the next page.  That is feature number 1.
    33        It leads back to the inference that the Defendants'
    34        dominant motive in all of this is to cause damage to
    35        McDonald's, regardless of the merit.  It does not matter
    36        that we chose to pick up the gauntlet.  One is looking at
    37        what the Defendants' motive was for the introduction of
    38        this material.  That is the first implication which we say
    39        it gives rise to.
    40
    41        The second one is this:  one does not need to introduce
    42        irrelevant material of that kind if one thinks and honestly
    43        believes that one has a reasonable defence to the actual
    44        allegations which the case is all about.
    45
    46   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  I think that is all I wanted to ask in
    47        relation to malice.  Are there any other matters?
    48
    49   MR. RAMPTON:  Yes.  I would like to add a point, it is really
    50        only, although it is an important point, and I apologise 
    51        for having missed it.  I only realised it when I got to the 
    52        counterclaim.  My Lord, it is on the fourth page in 
    53        paragraph 12, subparagraph 3.
    54
    55   MR. MORRIS:  Of what, the counterclaim?
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, the malice still.
    58
    59   MR. MORRIS:  Fourth page?
    60

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