Day 025 - 16 Sep 94 - Page 59
1 but rather they were unable to tell us the response.
2 I believe that to be a clever choice of words that may
3 have, that I believe, frankly, was intentionally
4 misleading. They knew exactly what they were intending to
5 do at the time which was to buy time in order to put out
6 their own information, but they had made up their mind.
7
8 Q. I do not doubt you may very well be right, Mr. Gardner,
9 but do you not see the possibility, at least, that
10 McDonald's were saying to themselves this: "We have
11 expended a good deal of time and money on this programme.
12 We have already got the brochures in New York, New Jersey,
13 Connecticut and the District of Columbia, we are going to
14 develop this programme. We are going to take the credit
15 for it. We did not see why Mr. Gardner and his cronnies
16 should jump on the band wagon." Do you not see that as a
17 possibility?
18 A. The conclusion, therefrom, Mr. Rampton, is: "We will,
19 therefore, mislead Mr. Gardner. We will represent to
20 Mr. Gardner; we will, in essence, misrepresent a fact
21 gathering investigation by the chief law enforcement
22 officers of the State of Texas and the State of California
23 in order to gain this advantage." I think it is entirely
24 possible that it is true, that they decided to
25 misrepresent the truth to us. I believe it is also
26 possible that that is a misrepresentation.
27
28 One way or the other, McDonald's at one step in the
29 process in dealing with us or another misrepresented the
30 truth to us. Either they had all along planned to give
31 out these brochures and through their own motives and for
32 their own self-promotion, desired not to let anyone in on
33 that including us and, therefore, misrepresented their
34 plans to us; or they, in fact, did not plan to do so, and
35 only did so as a result of contact by our office.
36
37 Q. I am asking you whether you are prepared to accept that
38 the first of those alternatives is a realistic
39 possibility?
40 A. That they set out to lie to us?
41
42 Q. That they set out to, to use an Americanism, if I may,
43 with His Lordship's leave, "mind your own damn business"?
44 A. Then they set out deliberately and intentionally to
45 violate the laws.
46
47 Q. "Keep your snout out of their trough", if I may put it
48 like that?
49 A. You may, Mr. Rampton, but they may not. They have a
50 duty under the laws of the State of Texas to tell the
51 truth to the investigators.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am not sure if that is what you are asking
54 about, is it?
55
56 MR. RAMPTON: No.
57
58 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is when one come to 4th July weekend.
59 What I think Mr. Rampton is suggesting is that they might
60 have taken the view (justifiably Mr. Rampton is
