Day 296 - 07 Nov 96 - Page 03
1 meaning as they pleaded it, not the meaning as you pleaded
2 it or formulated it when you were arguing about it in
3 November of last year, but the meaning as I have formulated
4 it, for better or worse. Especially since... I cannot
5 remember whether you actually got leave to appeal, but, you
6 know, there was an unsuccessful appeal, just putting it in
7 general terms.
8
9 I can imagine situations where you might want to say --
10 well, it would not arise in practical circumstances, but if
11 there was a possibility of an appeal and you were going to
12 argue on the appeal that the meaning was different to the
13 one the judge has held, you might want to say "just in case
14 we turn out to be right about that, we would say this, that
15 and the other".
16
17 But, as I see it at the moment, even that does not arise in
18 this case. I may be wrong about that. The matter is over
19 and done with, is it not, Mr. Rampton?
20
21 MR. RAMPTON: Sorry, my Lord. Yes. I have taken the view
22 that, in effect, your Lordship's meaning has displaced
23 everything else that relates to nutrition, apart from food
24 poisoning of course.
25
26 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Put forward by either side.
27
28 MR. RAMPTON: Oh, yes. There is no purpose or point in either
29 side arguing for some different meaning in relation to the
30 facts, because the facts must be directed at, and only at,
31 your Lordship's meaning. That is the meaning found by the
32 court and we are stuck with that unless and until the Court
33 of Appeal should say your Lordship is wrong.
34
35 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. Not only not directing it at any
36 different meaning, but any additional defamatory
37 meaning in this part of the case. That is putting food
38 poisoning -----
39
40 MR. RAMPTON: Putting food poisoning on one side, as I
41 understand the position now, your Lordship's meaning is
42 exhaustive.
43
44 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That is the way I -----
45
46 MR. RAMPTON: I don't know whether 'G', synthetic chips, would
47 have fallen within nutrition or not. It might have been
48 something to do with aesthetics. I have never been
49 impressed by the synthetic chips allegation, except insofar
50 as it may reflect upon the state of the mind of the person
51 who wrote it.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: In other words, what has been pleaded on
54 either side as being the meaning may be the spur to some
55 comment related to the meaning as I have found it to be.
56
57 MR. RAMPTON: Of course.
58
59 MR. JUSTICE BELL: But that is the full extent of it.
60
