Day 280 - 17 Jul 96 - Page 31


     
     1   MS. STEEL:  I am sorry.  I did not realise you did not have a
     2        copy.  In the second column on page 37, it talks about
     3        Steve Cockerman, and then it says "his files are filled
     4        with notices", that is underlined, "his concerns" and
     5        something about "Inspectors at the plant."  And then there
     6        are a whole series of quotes which are taken directly from
     7        his notes which clearly are things that were first made in
     8        a written document, and this is just a repetition of what
     9        was said in that document.  So it should be admissible.
    10
    11             I do not think I have got much else more to say,
    12        except that if you are intending to rule the statement out
    13        then we would like to reserve the right to call her as a
    14        live witness in order to prove the statements in the
    15        document which obviously we did not really want to have to
    16        do, bearing in mind that she is in America and it was just
    17        a lot easier to serve a Civil Evidence Act notice and take
    18        less time, but if that is not going to be allowed then we
    19        would want to seriously consider calling her as a live
    20        witness, at the earliest possible stage.  In fact, I do not
    21        know whether she might actually come into the category of
    22        coming to prove documents.
    23
    24   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Of what?
    25
    26   MS. STEEL:  Coming to prove documents in terms of it being an
    27        article that she wrote.  Anyway, that is basically it, I
    28        think, unless there is anything Mr. Morris wants to say.
    29
    30   MR. MORRIS:  I will not say anything except for may be that is
    31        again, what Helen just said, if you find against us on
    32        this, then, that she be allowed to come the first week back
    33        after the summer break for the purpose purely of proving
    34        the document, which is something which has already been
    35        said, time should be set aside for that purpose.
    36
    37   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  That is the only matter I want to hear
    38        you on, Mr. Rampton, because if I decide against the
    39        Defendants on the written statement I want to make a
    40        decision now on whether I might hear her if she came to
    41        give oral evidence.
    42
    43   MR. RAMPTON:  Well, it is going to create a difficulty for us, I
    44        expect, if that does happen.  The reason being that until
    45        this point, which is about the 17th July, there has been no
    46        indication such a witness should be called.  When I had
    47        looked at section 2 of the Act and the Brinks Mat case, it
    48        became apparent that that statement was never going to be
    49        admissible, nor the action.  It will mean, if I was to
    50        contest the evidence, that I would have to go and interview
    51        people -- or I say, 'I', McDonald's people would have to go
    52        and interview people in all these different places to find
    53        out whether the evidence could or should be contested, and
    54        then we open up a factual issue.  It will not be right, in
    55        our submission, to put us to contradict or rebut factual
    56        evidence which thus far has not been evidence at all
    57        because it has quite obviously been inadmissible.
    58
    59             I do partly endorse what your Lordship said this
    60        morning about the length of this trial.  I doubt anyway

Prev Next Index