Day 152 - 11 Jul 95 - Page 48


     
     1        high.  We looked at what turnover actually meant. We
     2        advanced from that situation to a suggestion that
     3        McDonald's was more than happy to have a high turnover,
     4        because it meant that they kept a comparatively high
     5        proportion of crew on the basic starting pay.
     6
     7        But all this in a sense is just discussion.  The most
     8        important thing, whether the summary which I have just
     9        given is, in fact, accurate or not, is you put the case
    10        which you mean to put in terms which there can be no doubt
    11        about, and here you have in the witness box someone who has
    12        touched on the matter in his evidence-in-chief and is an
    13        obvious candidate for putting the matter fair and square at
    14        a moment which you choose during your cross-examination.
    15
    16        Let us leave it there, but for all those reasons, lest
    17        there be any confusion about it in the future, I really
    18        think you should put the form of words which you decided
    19        most accurately reflects your case to Mr. Davis.
    20
    21   MS. STEEL:   Obviously -- I do not necessarily want to say
    22        that -- the point is that even the figures that Mr. Davis
    23        has given so far on turnover, you know, we would consider
    24        them high, so it is not necessary for us to -- I am not
    25        saying we necessarily need to put the matter to him.  We
    26        may put it to him.
    27
    28   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think you do.  I think you do; I think you
    29        should.  Because I think the form in which it has been put,
    30        inadvertently or intentionally, has varied from witness to
    31        witness as they have come into the witness box, you must,
    32        in my view, put your final form to a witness who has some
    33        chance of giving an answer.
    34
    35   MS. STEEL:   I just do not know that Mr. Davis is necessarily
    36        the best person to do it with, so .....
    37
    38   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  There is no harm in putting it to him, is
    39        there?
    40
    41   MS. STEEL:   He may be too low down in the chain to really
    42        have -----
    43
    44   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You can argue that to me in due course, but
    45        I need to understand exactly what it is and it needs to be
    46        put to a witness who can give an answer.
    47
    48   MS. STEEL:  There is always Mr. Preston left; we can always put
    49        it to him.
    50 
    51   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Please accept my invitation to put it to 
    52        Mr. Davis and by all means put it to Mr. Preston as well. 
    53
    54   MS. STEEL:  Right, OK.
    55
    56   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  May I say this, that it is not a sign of
    57        defeat or weakness that one changes one's suggestion during
    58        a case.  I am not talking about this one, but very often a
    59        litigant's case starts off being one thing and, in the
    60        light of all the evidence which has been heard, they put it

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