Day 083 - 06 Feb 95 - Page 05


     
     1        as a result of eating beef products.  In this country we
     2        heard from Mr. Walker that McDonald's uses beef from 8.1
     3        per cent of the total beef slaughterings in the UK.  So,
     4        clearly, it is something that is relevant to McDonald's.
     5
     6        If it were stated that there is a risk of transmission of
     7        BSE to humans eating beef, and that due to the fact that
     8        McDonald's take no steps to ensure that their beef is
     9        BSE-free their customers are equally at risk, then that
    10        could be defamatory of the Plaintiffs.
    11
    12   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You would like to add that to your draft
    13        amendment, would you, by adding "and/or have taken no steps
    14        which they ought to have done to ensure their beef is
    15        BSE-free"?
    16
    17   MS. STEEL:   Just that they have not taken any steps.  As I say,
    18        I had not discussed the draft amendment in detail,
    19        so  .....
    20
    21   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, I think I have to get on and decide this
    22        issue; we cannot keep putting it off.
    23
    24   MS. STEEL:  No, I understand that; "that they have not taken any
    25        steps", I am happy for that to be added, "to prevent
    26        this".  Perhaps it would be better to put "have not taken
    27        necessary steps".
    28
    29   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What I have put:  "They sell various products
    30        made from beef which may be contaminated with BSE and which
    31        may, therefore, risk serious damage to human health and/or
    32        that they have taken no steps which they ought to have done
    33        to ensure that their beef products are BSE-free", which is
    34        what you said at the beginning and what I understand you to
    35        be adding now.
    36
    37   MS. STEEL:   We would prefer it to read:  "They have not taken
    38        the necessary steps which they could have done to prevent
    39        this".  I think that is it.
    40
    41   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  Do you want to add anything to that,
    42        Mr. Morris?
    43
    44   MS. STEEL:   I just want to add something which is that last
    45        week Mr. Rampton quoted a case about -- I cannot remember
    46        which one it was, to be honest -- it said:  "If a man by
    47        misfortune should sell a bottle of wine or a hamburger
    48        which is not as good as it might be and the customer
    49        suffers in consequence, but no fault or blame can be
    50        attributed to the businessman on that account, then a 
    51        statement to the effect that the goods were or might have 
    52        been unsatisfactory in some way is not the justification of 
    53        the defamatory libel".
    54
    55        I would argue that if that is the case, then it must
    56        equally be the case that if somebody makes a general
    57        comment about the risks of hamburgers, then that cannot be
    58        defamatory. That is what is in the Fact Sheet.  It is a
    59        general comment about meat products, not specifically about
    60        McDonald's products.  I would argue that either the

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