Day 099 - 08 Mar 95 - Page 05
1 sought beforehand not to disclose the video, it should be
2 disclosed. That is my recollection, without reminding
3 myself of it.
4
5 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I see that. The difficulty I find is
6 that the recent authority in the Court of Appeal -- Thorne,
7 I think, is the name of the case -- actually says that
8 documents which go only to credit are not disclosable. I
9 do not know how one find one's way through ------
10
11 MR. JUSTICE BELL: There may then be a difference for a reason
12 which at the moment I do not understand between documents
13 and video films, but there we are.
14
15 MR. RAMPTON: No, my Lord. Senior and Holdsworth says that
16 video films are documents.
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: But, as a matter of principle, any document
19 or video should be disclosed in time for instructions to be
20 taken from a witness who may be able or be asked to comment
21 upon it. If a document or a video falls into the hands of
22 either party late in the day, unless there is some
23 particular reason I will always say that the party calling
24 that witness, even be it halfway through that witness's
25 evidence, should be entitled to take instructions on the
26 new film or document.
27
28 If a situation arises where a video or a document, it is
29 suggested, should not be disclosed because it goes purely
30 to credit, then I think that matter probably should be
31 raised in chambers in the absence of the witness so if
32 there is any dispute between the parties. But that may be
33 a problem which we will never come to.
34
35 What do you say about the catcher whom you thought you
36 might call?
37
38 MS. STEEL: Just before we go on to that, I am quite happy for
39 the Plaintiffs to get time to consult on documents, but
40 I do feel a bit aggrieved that this is something that
41 always comes up when we produce documents at a late stage;
42 whereas it is never raised when the Plaintiffs produced
43 documents at a late stage. For example, a whole bundle of
44 nutrition documents that did not come until after their
45 witnesses had left the witness box.
46
47 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That can only be because you have not raised
48 it. If you do raise it, I will deal with it just as I am
49 dealing with it now if Mr. Rampton raises it.
50
51 MS. STEEL: But then we are disadvantaged because we do not know
52 what the legal situation is.
53
54 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You are perfectly entitled to ask for the
55 same facility that Mr. Rampton has asked for. If documents
56 are produced by those who represent McDonald's late in the
57 day and you say: "We wish to talk to our witness about
58 this before any questions are asked on it", then I will
59 take exactly the same attitude as I have taken when
60 Mr. Rampton has made that point.
