Day 198 - 08 Dec 95 - Page 31


     
     1        which is three and a half months after Mr. Davis and
     2        Mr. Stanton had given evidence.
     3
     4   MR. MORRIS:  I mean, in general, we are not afraid of how many
     5        witnesses the Plaintiffs want to drag into the case at this
     6        late stage, but I would like to point out, first of all,
     7        Mr. Coton in his original statements did not bring up,
     8        maybe just the clocking, the adjustments.
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Can I put it -----
    11
    12   MR. MORRIS:  That is the only new allegation he brought up in
    13        his statement.  The only other  -- all his statement was
    14        was he was verifying what our previous witnesses had said,
    15        including Adrian Brett who worked up to '92.
    16
    17   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  The trouble is, if I could put what appears
    18        to me, the clocking was something completely new, and it
    19        seems to me only fair that the Plaintiffs should have an
    20        opportunity to call their relevant witnesses in relation to
    21        that.  I mean, it was not even in the picture in July when
    22        Mr. Davis and Mr. Stanton were called.
    23
    24   MR. MORRIS:  No.
    25
    26   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  The other aspect which, it seems to me, is
    27        either new or of great extension of the case is the
    28        continuation of practices and the pressure you would say
    29        which caused those practices for something like three and a
    30        half years after Mr. Davis ceased to be Manager, because,
    31        essentially, the witnesses whose statements you had served
    32        originally were in relation to Mr. Davis' period as
    33        Manager; Mr. Gibney ran on for about a couple of months
    34        afterwards before he went off to Milton Keynes, but that is
    35        basically it.
    36
    37   MS. STEEL:  There is Mr. Brett as well, who went on for a quite
    38        considerable time afterwards.
    39
    40   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, but the real impact was when Mr. Davis
    41        was Manager, and if I were to find in your favour factually
    42        on these matters on the evidence as it is, quite frankly,
    43        it would be completely a Pyrrhic victory if I had stopped
    44        the other side from calling half the witnesses they wanted
    45        to call on the topic.
    46
    47   MR. MORRIS:  We are not objecting -----
    48
    49   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I am not trying to bully you into it; I am
    50        just trying to explain to you the way I am feeling about it 
    51        at the moment.  Mr. Rampton has greatly restricted the 
    52        scope of the evidence which he might call. 
    53
    54   MS. STEEL:  There is one matter that I did want to object to the
    55        Plaintiffs calling evidence on, which was about, I think it
    56        was Steve Harney talking about what went on at Clacton,
    57        because if you remember Mr. Gibney was not allowed to give
    58        evidence about what happened at other stores.  So, I think
    59        it is only fair that that should apply to the Plaintiffs'
    60        witnesses as well, otherwise, you know, we .....

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