Day 097 - 06 Mar 95 - Page 20

     
     1        it.
     2
     3   MR. MORRIS:  I think the unusual case of Mr. Gomez Gonzalez (and
     4        as we are in chambers I think it may be appropriate to say)
     5        was a lot of the time his answers were very long and drawn
     6        out when they did not need to be.
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think one again can say in chambers he did
     9        give some very long answers, but there you are.  I am not
    10        necessarily comparing with Mr. Gomez Gonzalez.  For all
    11        I know, Mr. Nicholson will be very short and to the point
    12        when he is called, I just do not know.
    13
    14        All I will say at this moment is that I think it would be
    15        of advantage to have a timetable in relation to each
    16        witness where the person who is going to call that witness
    17        gives an estimate -- it can be a schedule -- of how long
    18        they expect that witness to be giving their
    19        evidence-in-chief, first of all.  Then the other side
    20        respond by saying how long they expect to be in
         cross-examination, that is, McDonald's respond to whatever
    22        you put in your column for your witnesses and you respond
    23        in whatever they have put in their evidence-in-chief column
    24        for your cross-examination time.
    25
    26        I am leaving open for further consideration whether
    27        I should say that the Plaintiffs need not call their
    28        employment evidence until you call your employment
    29        witnesses with a view to saving public time and money.  It
    30        seems to me that the first step is to send out the letters
    31        and envelopes, the form and envelopes, which Mr. Rampton
    32        has referred to and to get the schedule of witness times
    33        done, because I think only in the light of that could
    34        I sensibly decide whether McDonald's should call their
    35        witnesses first and then yours or the other way round.
    36
    37   MR. MORRIS:  Can I say that in terms of our witnesses on
    38        employment, we were going to request some substantial time
    39        after the completion of the Plaintiffs' evidence to
    40        actually contact all our witnesses and see if we can have a
         proper conversation with them or, interspersed amongst our
    42        witnesses' evidence, to have breaks so that we can contact
    43        the next batch of witnesses.
    44
    45   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think the first thing is to get this form
    46        off with a stamped addressed envelope enclosed.  I know you
    47        have a lot on your plate.  I know the help you get is
    48        sporadic, certainly in so far as legal advice is concerned,
    49        but I would have thought between the two of you and with
    50        some help which I am sure you can summon up, you could get 
    51        the envelopes off before the end of next week.  When you 
    52        are working on a case like this anyway you get a lot of 
    53        work which is brain power and very tiring, and a little bit
    54        of routine clerical work, as it were, can be a bit of a
    55        relief.
    56
    57   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I do not want to interfere.  One thing we
    58        will do, we will type out the address on the return
    59        envelope.  We need to be told whether it is go to
    60        Mr. Morris or Ms. Steel or both of them.  It might be 20,