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
