Day 088 - 13 Feb 95 - Page 86
1 MS. STEEL: Her statement was, in fact, served on 6th December.
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is there any more you want to say,
4 Mr. Rampton?
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6 MR. RAMPTON: Yes, my Lord, there is. Ms. Hovey's statement is
7 quite specific. Mr. Morris is wrong in assuming that this
8 particular person cannot talk about Jarrets at the time
9 that she was there because he can. What I would wish to
10 say is that I find it somewhat ironical that the Defendants
11 are making a fuss about me wanting to delay the calling of
12 a witness, given some of the trouble we have had in this
13 case.
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15 Leaving that on one side, your Lordship will want to decide
16 this case, I apprehend, on the best evidence available. I
17 do not control Jarrets. I cannot tell them what evidence,
18 if any, they should be offering to McDonald's in this
19 case. If they tell us that this is the witness they are
20 prepared to offer and no-one else, there is not a lot I can
21 do about it.
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23 MS. STEEL: Cannot Mr. Rampton subpoena -----
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25 MR. RAMPTON: I would not dream of it.
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27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I do not understand why that should be so.
28 As far as I am concerned, witnesses from Jarret are just
29 witnesses. Be anyone at Jarret can be proofed by your
30 instructing solicitors.
31
32 MR. RAMPTON: It is a question of whether they are willing to
33 come to court or not.
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35 MR. JUSTICE BELL: If they not willing to come to court, you
36 have to decide whether to subpoena them or just leave it as
37 it is.
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39 MR. RAMPTON: I might do that but, my Lord, I would like that to
40 answer Ms. Hovey's evidence and I would like to do it with
41 the person that Jarrets tell me is the best qualified to
42 answer her. She is, after all, a qualified veterinarian.
43 The person that I would use to answer is somebody who is
44 not, as it were, batting for Jarrets because he has not a
45 vested interest in doing so.
46
47 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am afraid I feel you have had over two
48 months since her statement was served. It includes the
49 Christmas vacation. I consider that you should call such
50 witnesses as you have available to be called on 8th, 9th
51 and 10th March. If they overflow in some way, we will have
52 to cope with that. But if there is an expert's report on
53 27th March, it cannot be dealt with or considered by the
54 other side, effectively, so that someone else is called, if
55 they want to, until next term, and I do not think that is
56 satisfactory. In any event, I think, taking into account
57 as I do the pressures and time-consuming qualities of a
58 case that is long and complicated as this, I feel there has
59 been enough time to decide and get witnesses in order.
60
