Day 053 - 22 Nov 94 - Page 02
1 Tuesday, 22nd November, 1994.
2
3 MS. STEEL: I was going to do things in a slightly different
4 order, mainly because, if we talk a bit about what the
5 meaning is earlier on, then it may actually save time.
6
7 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You take your own order.
8
9 MS. STEEL: As you know, they have applied for an order that we
10 should set out in writing the meaning that we are seeking
11 to justify, and they have relied on the Lucas-Box case.
12 From what I can read of the Lucas-Box case, the situation
13 there was quite different, in that they have not pleaded a
14 meaning at all -- there was no meaning on the record. In
15 our case we have pleaded a meaning. That has been on the
16 record since 1991, I think.
17
18 At no time, until the skeleton argument of 3rd November
19 this year, have the Plaintiffs asked for clarification of
20 that meaning. We would say that the only reason they are
21 asking for clarification now is because they want to change
22 their case, their meaning of the leaflet in their Statement
23 of Claim. The reason for that is because we have proved
24 the meaning they have pleaded, and they now want to change
25 the meaning, to move the goal posts.
26
27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I do not want to distract you. One of the
28 difficulties in my mind is that when I have looked at words
29 like the "links between" or "linked with", whether in the
30 Plaintiffs' Statement of Claim or your particulars of
31 justification, I have thought that that meant "causally
32 linked with", or the "causal links between", for a variety
33 of reasons, but in large part, at least, from the witness
34 statements on both sides -- that is, yours as well as the
35 statements of the Plaintiffs' witnesses.
36
37 I have said on a number of occasions, most recently
38 yesterday evening, that whatever Mr. Rampton is asking for
39 by way of further pleading, I would like you to tell me
40 what the phrases in your pleading the "links between" or
41 "relationship between" or an "association between" mean,
42 if one does not put in the word "causal". Do you
43 understand?
44
45 MS. STEEL: Yes. We were -----
46
47 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is so that you can tell me where I am
48 wrong in thinking it means "causal". But you carry on.
49
50 MS. STEEL: I was going to say that we are willing to expand on
51 what is meant and go into more detail, though your
52 interpretation of our pleadings was incorrect, in that
53 "cause" is one type of link, but that was not what was
54 particularly specified in our pleadings.
55
56 The leaflet itself states:
57
58 "McDonald's try to show in their 'Nutrition Guide' (which
59 is full of impressive-looking but irrelevant facts &
60 figures) that mass-produced hamburgers, chips, colas,
