Day 097 - 06 Mar 95 - Page 16
1 has to ask to recall a witness.
2
3 MR. MORRIS: I think that -----
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is not a question of McDonald's cost
6 because, although their costs may be very high, they only
7 pay their own costs. There is a public cost, not only in
8 time but also in money as well. No-one pays that, no party
9 under our present system pays that.
10
11 MR. MORRIS: I think that the witness statements which the
12 Plaintiffs have accepted are, effectively, our pleadings
13 are broader than the actual pleadings, more detailed than
14 the pleadings. We did not plead most of the matters in the
15 actual statements of our witnesses. Some of our witnesses,
16 their statements were made after our pleadings.
17
18 I think the broad categories of what the matters are at
19 issue in the case are pleaded in, for example, employment
20 pleadings. The issues, whether it is unions or health and
21 safety or authoritarian management or whatever, the broad
22 issues are there. There are in the pleadings a number of
23 specific instances to back that up, but the witness
24 statements are broader than that.
25
26 MR. JUSTICE BELL: How soon could you get the letters out? It
27 is 40 letters. You have their addresses. In fact, if
28 Mr. Rampton not only gave you 80 stamped addressed
29 envelopes but (because it can be done by labels in an
30 office like Barlows) 40 of them had on them labels with
31 either your address or Ms. Steel's on them so that you do
32 not have to write all those out, what you have to do is
33 write the addresses on 40 envelopes, the names and
34 addresses on 40 envelopes, and enclose the forms, if you
35 wish, with a little covering note which you and Ms. Steel,
36 or one of your helpers, writes saying that you would be
37 very grateful if the addressee would complete and return
38 the sheet as asked within 14 days of receipt.
39
40 Volume 2, I think it is, section A.
41
42 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, yes, volume 2.
43
44 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Section A, "witnesses having been in
45 relatively recent contact with".
46
47 MR. MORRIS: This was something I was going to say. Most of our
48 witnesses we have not met. We have spoken to only over the
49 phone, in general.
50
51 MR. JUSTICE BELL: But have you spoken to most of them over the
52 phone?
53
54 MR. MORRIS: I have personally -----
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am not making any suggestion against the
57 character of any of them, but they are mostly young people
58 who, for all I know, are moving around or, whatever they
59 think about the McDonald's, have other things which they
60 would rather be doing with their time. That is the
