Day 195 - 04 Dec 95 - Page 02
1 Monday, 4th December 1995
2
3 MR. MORRIS: Before we start, there are a couple of things.
4 Mr. Brett who is due next Monday ---
5
6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
7
8 MR. MORRIS: -- said that he sent to me in the post either last
9 Thursday or last Friday a letter or further statement
10 verifying that the other statements of the Colchester
11 witnesses are accurate, as far as he recalls and knows, and
12 that he wants to make a statement. It has not arrived this
13 morning, but I thought I had better let the court know as
14 soon as possible. Obviously, we will fax it to the
15 Plaintiffs as soon as we get the copy.
16
17 The second thing is the documents related to Ray Coton
18 which we applied for, well, last week we applied for
19 documents relating to his complaints before he resigned
20 which we have had no reply from the Plaintiffs at all.
21 Then we made a further request following the discussion on,
22 is it, Friday -- I cannot remember -- about the Plaintiffs
23 calling further witnesses. We made a further
24 request -- did you have a copy of that? You should have a
25 copy that was sent to the court.
26
27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I do not think I do. I am not concerned at
28 the moment with the Defendants' further witnesses. Unless
29 they relate to something which appears for the very first
30 time in Mr. Coton, I am very unlikely to give leave to
31 McDonald's to call any further witnesses with regard to
32 Colchester. I am entirely I disinclined to get tangled up
33 in an argument when I may very well at the end of the day
34 not give leave for them to be called, quite frankly.
35
36 If in so far as Mr. Coton's evidence brings up something of
37 which there was no warning in the witness statements which
38 you have produced, or if in so far as something significant
39 comes right out of the blue in one of your statements which
40 those advising McDonald's had no reason to foresee, then if
41 an application is made to call further evidence on behalf
42 of McDonald's or to recall one of their witnesses who has
43 gone ahead, I will listen to it and I may grant it. But if
44 all Mr. Coton has done is say that which your witnesses say
45 was happening during Mr. Davis' period "continued when
46 I was doing it", I probably will not want to hear any more
47 from McDonald's because that is not anything new or,
48 arguably, is not anything new; it is just something more of
49 the same.
50
51 I will hear what Mr. Rampton has to say and I will consider
52 it afresh when I hear the argument, but I do not want you
53 to be going around worrying about what may come from
54 McDonald's in the future.
55
56 MR. MORRIS: It is just that if, for example -- I made a formal
57 request to the Plaintiffs, and you should have got a copy,
58 but it was that if it was going to be considered that Mark
59 Davis or Mr. Stanton be recalled, we had requested copies
60 of their performance reviews.
