Day 123 - 09 May 95 - Page 13
1 any false statements, any allegations against our good name
2 or our brand. We consider our reputation to be very, very
3 important, and we will take whatever appropriate action we
4 think necessary to protect our brand and our reputation.
5
6 Q. So you are aware of -- I mean, to give an example --
7 criticisms that have been made regarding, say, McDonald's
8 connection with rainforests' depletion but -----
9
10 MR. RAMPTON: Can I make an objection on a point of law,
11 please?
12
13 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
14
15 MR. RAMPTON: I have had about enough of this. I will leave
16 Mr. Atkinson to find the passage in Gatley which is
17 relevant. Does your Lordship have Gatley? It is not that
18 I mind Mr. Beavers answering these questions, I believe,
19 though, the evidence is irrelevant and inadmissible, and
20 therefore, the questioning ought to stop. My Lord, it is
21 paragraph 1443. Since the Defendants do not seem to have a
22 copy, I will read it out -- it is quite short -- on page
23 589. It is in relation to damages, which is the only topic
24 to which this question could ever have been relevant:
25
26 "Damages Already Recovered for the Same Libel" -- that
27 heading is not to the point but the paragraph is --
28
29 "General rule: The defendant cannot prove in mitigation of
30 damages that some other person or persons have on previous
31 occasions published the same libel or other accounts of the
32 facts alleged in the libel, for the fact that others have
33 defamed the Plaintiff is wholly irrelevant. Such evidence
34 is inadmissible, even when coupled with evidence that on
35 such occasions the Plaintiffs did not sue or prosecute, or
36 take any steps to contradict the charges made against him."
37
38 There are two authorities that are relevant there, three
39 actually. There is the footnote 17 where there are three
40 authorities, two of which are relevant and modern, and then
41 there are two earlier authorities for the last sentence of
42 that paragraph.
43
44 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What do you say, Mr. Morris and Ms. Steel?
45
46 MR. MORRIS: It is not just relevant to damages, it is relevant
47 to motivation.
48
49 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, but that just takes it back a stage.
50 What is the motivation relevant to, do you say?
51
52 MR. MORRIS: The motivation of McDonald's Corporation in part.
53 I can give my opinion but I prefer to ask the witness.
54
55 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No. What is the question of motivation
56 relevant to, you say, which makes this line of questioning
57 relevant?
58
59 MR. MORRIS: First of all -----
60
