Day 079 - 27 Jan 95 - Page 09

     
     1        A.  Precisely.
     2
     3   Q.   Did they say to you that they were concerned that the
     4        patties were the vehicle for this infection?
     5        A.  No.
     6
     7   Q.   They did not say that?
     8        A.  No.  They said they were going to carry out
     9        investigations to find out the problem.  At that stage
    10        nobody knew.
    11
    12   Q.   What about the other meetings as well?
    13        A.  I have already said, I honestly cannot recall those
    14        meetings.  I probably sent technical people to them.
    15
    16   Q.   I want to seek clarification; we have just looked again at
    17        the admission that the Plaintiffs have made.
    18
    19   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes I was trying to find it a moment ago and
    20        I could not.  Is it all in -----
    21
    22   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I have been looking for it too.  My
    23        recollection is that the admission is in the precise terms
    24        of the pleading in the Reamended Defence which is at tab 5.
    25
    26   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, at the moment I cannot find my Abstract
    27        of Pleadings.
    28
    29   MS. STEEL:   I believe they were put at the front of the
    30        Abstract Pleadings.
    31
    32   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, that is what I thought.  I have found it
    33        now.
    34
    35   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, we have been trying to find the date the
    36        Abstract of Admission ---
    37
    38   MS. STEEL:  6th July 1994.
    39
    40   MR. RAMPTON:  -- because there have been several admissions of
         fact.
    42
    43   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  The admission I have is that the second
    44        Plaintiffs were responsible for an outbreak of food
    45        poisoning in Preston 1991.
    46
    47   MS. STEEL:  No, there was a second admission.
    48
    49   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That:  "In January 1991 a number of people
    50        suffered food poisoning after eating burgers from 
    51        McDonald's in Friar Gate, Preston.  Some had severe medical 
    52        problems requiring hospitalisation.  McDonald's refused to 
    53        admit responsibility despite a Public Health Laboratory
    54        official report into the incident and identifying the
    55        company which concluded that the problem may not have been
    56        completely restricted to that single branch or to a single
    57        hamburger chain.  Survivors of the outbreak only received
    58        some compensation without admission of liability after
    59        strenuous and lengthy efforts".
    60