Day 123 - 09 May 95 - Page 18
1 I thought I answered that earlier in saying that we have
2 around 1200 franchisees and, from time to time, they may
3 make a decision to sue someone, or some group over
4 something, and I am not aware of those cases, nor am I
5 aware of any specific particular case in which my company
6 has sued.
7
8 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Would you know about it if McDonald's
9 Corporation itself had sued, if indeed it is entitled to in
10 the States?
11 A. Perhaps I would, my Lord.
12
13 MR. MORRIS: Well, it would be pretty inconceivable that -----
14 A. There is an awful lot that goes on and I cannot say
15 I am privy to everything that goes on in our company and am
16 aware of every lawsuit in the company.
17
18 Q. But you do not usually give evidence in this kind of case
19 in another country?
20
21 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Mr. Morris, I do think you are going back to
22 the situation you were in before Mr. Rampton made his
23 objection. If I can think aloud for a moment, because you
24 may in due course come to argue against what I am about to
25 say, if at the end of the day I think that substantial
26 parts of this leaflet are defamatory of the First Plaintiff
27 and the Second Plaintiff, for that matter, then it will
28 follow that they were perfectly entitled under English law,
29 and justified to that extent, to bring the action. If it
30 turns out at the end of the day, to all intents and
31 purposes, that what is said in the leaflet is justified or
32 fair comment, they will not have been justified. So it
33 depends what I decide at the end of the day. There may be
34 an argument, or a view that some people hold, that very
35 large corporations should not have the right to sue for
36 defamation under English law, but that is not a matter I am
37 going to enter into. If ever there was a matter for
38 Parliament to decide as the elected representatives of the
39 people, rather than an individual judge, it would be
40 something like that.
41
42 That is the way I feel at the moment. That is partly why
43 I think there is a limit to, and bearing in mind the
44 objection which Mr. Rampton made, how far this question can
45 go. You have asked quite enough to mount any contrary
46 argument, if you wish, after the evidence is over. You
47 have not lost anything by not going any further.
48
49 MR. MORRIS: Just one point on the employment section I must
50 bring up -- you have the fact sheet -- "What is it like
51 working for McDonald's?" Regarding the employment of women
52 and black people at McDonald's in that section, what it
53 says about that -----
54
55 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I am going to do is take the five-minute
56 break now. Collect your thoughts about the next questions
57 you want to ask. What I would like you to do, because we
58 will not take more than five minutes now, is would you mind
59 using part of that five minutes, please, Mr. Beavers, to
60 read what it is like working at McDonald's. It amounts
