Day 149 - 06 Jul 95 - Page 06
1 transcripts from Wednesday of next week.
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
4
5 MS. STEEL: We have spoken to Barnett Lenton, and they will sell
6 us copies -- obviously, we have still to make enquiries
7 about raising the money to do this -- but they will sell us
8 copies at the rate which they charge journalists, but they
9 can only supply them three weeks later, unless McDonald's
10 will agree to us getting them as soon as they are
11 prepared. So we want to ask the Plaintiffs to agree to
12 that, since -----
13
14 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do you know what the reason for
15 Barnett Lenton saying that is?
16
17 MS. STEEL: I think it is just the commercial advantage, or
18 something to do with that.
19
20 MR. JUSTICE BELL: All I ask is: do McDonald's raise any
21 objection to you getting them straightaway or, rather, as
22 soon as possible, at the journalists' rate rather than the
23 commercial rate?
24
25 MR. MORRIS: I think the difference is something between
26 something like £20 a day to something like £375 a day.
27
28 MS. STEEL: That is not the exact rate, but it is in that order.
29
30 MR. JUSTICE BELL: There is this lay period, is there, so that
31 parties can see what is there first? That is the advantage
32 for the premium they are paying.
33
34 MS. STEEL: So the only reason why I could see McDonald's
35 objecting is to make life difficult in court.
36
37 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think I understand. I think the way it
38 arises is this: it is less expensive to produce
39 transcripts over a period of something like three weeks
40 rather than produce them within a few hours. I can see
41 there are obvious reasons for that.
42
43 In any event, Barnett Lenton are having to produce them
44 within the first few hours, because the Plaintiffs have
45 asked and are paying the charge for production of prompt
46 transcripts. What you would do is be able to take
47 advantage of the fact that McDonald's are ordering prompt
48 transcripts at the commercial rate by getting what I have
49 to assume are photocopies or printouts of the same
50 promptly. I assume that is basically what the situation
51 is.
52
53 MS. STEEL: I think the position is that, because it is the
54 party that pays the amount for getting them done in a hurry
55 gets an advantage in court -----
56
57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I would think the position is this: were it
58 not for the fact that McDonald's are paying for urgent
59 transcripts, you would not be able to get urgent
60 transcripts at the journalist rate, because no one would be
