Day 284 - 22 Oct 96 - Page 17
1 MR. MORRIS: That is what McDonald's have pleaded.
2
3 MR JUSTICE BELL: I appreciate that is what you say. So there
4 you have given me something of the kind I am looking for.
5
6 MR. MORRIS: Right.
7
8 MR JUSTICE BELL: You say that that leaflet means that by one
9 means or another McDonald's have caused small farmers to be
10 evicted from their land in the three countries?
11
12 MR. MORRIS: Yes. Exactly. And that is the important point.
13 Have small farmers been evicted and are they responsible?
14
15 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am not sure McDonald's have agreed with
16 that, by the way they have pleaded, that by purchasing
17 large tracts of lands in poor countries they have done
18 this. Please listen to me, I am trying to help you. What
19 you say is, 'We are not interested in that bit, because the
20 essence is that by one means or another they have caused
21 the eviction of small farmers and that is part of the
22 meaning.' Now, what I want you to do, because it will help
23 me -- and I do not really mind whether you do it this
24 morning or some other time, you have got to do it at some
25 other time and if you can do it now while we are on the
26 topic it will be much better -- is to look at the bit on
27 economic imperialism and look at the bit on rainforest and
28 give me the meanings which you say are there but not
29 actually pleaded by McDonald's as meanings, but which you
30 think you can justify so that at the end of the day you can
31 say, 'Well, look now we have just justified that, whether
32 the rest of it is true or not it did not make a jot of
33 difference to McDonald's reputation', which is section 5 of
34 the Defamation Act.
35
36 What I suggest you do is, I will make it five past twelve,
37 because you have got the CaseView monitor in court. I have
38 to say, I think it would be much better in your row and
39 Miss Steel's than with your helper's behind you.
40
41 MR. MORRIS: The other CaseView has not been brought in yet by
42 the stenographers.
43
44 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I suggest you do is look back over what
45 I have just said. Take a minute or two. You are very
46 familiar with this leaflet, and we have touched on this
47 before. Then just tell me - bang, bang, bang, 'These are
48 the meanings that it has, which we can justify, which
49 McDonald's have not actually set out in their pleadings'.
50
51 MR. MORRIS: OK.
52
53 (Short Adjournment)
54
55 MR. MORRIS: That point had not really sunk in before today but
56 I have just quickly gone through, identifying what probably
57 defamatory points have not been mentioned by the
58 plaintiffs. On the economics page, first paragraph in the
59 third world section, is the last sentence about challenging
60 the power of multi-national corporations, that
