Day 194 - 01 Dec 95 - Page 28

     
     1        them a note of the general nature of our dispute with
     2        Mr. Coton.  I will say it now so that they can start
     3        thinking about it.  The fundamental basis of the attack on
     4        Mr. Coton is this, that what is being attributed to
     5        Mr. Davis did not happen in Mr. Davis' time at all but it
     6        happened in Mr. Coton's time and was done by him.
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  All I will do is direct that the Second
     9        Plaintiffs make their best possible efforts to give the
    10        Defendants notice of the substance of any further evidence
    11        which they may wish call, as then known to them, by 4 p.m.
    12        on Tuesday.
    13
    14   MR. RAMPTON:  I am very grateful.
    15
    16   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  But I stress "as then known to them", because
    17        I must rely on Mr. Rampton and those who instruct him to do
    18        their best in that regard.  I would stress, and this is in
    19        no way a formal ruling and I apologise if it sounds rather
    20        paternalistic, but my only experience is that a lot of
         these procedural problems, as I have indicated in the form
    22        of ruling which I give, which arise frequently in
    23        litigation can be worked through with goodwill, so that
    24        when one actually comes to the end of the evidence the
    25        procedural issues which have arisen have fallen away as
    26        matters of importance altogether and one can concentrate on
    27        the substance of the important issues.
    28
    29   MS. STEEL:   I also wanted to raise about the question of the
    30        documents again.  This is just really that I am asking that
    31        the Plaintiffs inform us of where these documents were
    32        found, and that is a relevant question because we are
    33        entitled to ask witnesses about documents, and you may
    34        recall that we have had no documents whatsoever apart from
    35        the Accident Book from Colchester, despite requesting that
    36        on a number of occasions over the past few years, and
    37        so ....
    38
    39   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What I would ask is that if
    40        Mrs. Brinley-Codd, with Mr. Nicholson's help (if she needs
         it), when I rise in a moment or two, quickly go through the
    42        bundle with the Defendants and, in so far as she is able
    43        to, says where they have actually come from.  If it is
    44        right that a large number of them have actually come from
    45        Mr. Coton's personnel file -- it may be all of them-----
    46
    47   MR. RAMPTON:  That is what it is.  They all have.  That is what
    48        it is.
    49
    50   MS. STEEL:  Where that was stored, whether it was Head Office or 
    51        ----- 
    52 
    53   MR. RAMPTON:  I will be perfectly frank:  I do not honestly
    54        believe that where it came from has anything to do with
    55        it.  We only found it -- indeed, I think we probably only
    56        looked for it when we got the further and better
    57        particulars.
    58
    59   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.  I do not see why anyone should
    60        necessarily concern themselves of the period when Mr. Coton