Day 191 - 24 Nov 95 - Page 13
1 originals of the documents we have disclosed which is all
2 the Defendants are entitled to. Mrs. Brinley-Codd and
3 I have both been through that file independently and it
4 contains nothing relating to the RCDs and Mr. Morris has to
5 live with that fact.
6
7 MR. MORRIS: I want to know if it contains nothing because
8 nothing was actually put in the document, in the file ---
9
10 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That is another matter.
11
12 MR. MORRIS: -- or whether the pages have been removed.
13
14 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You have to accept what Mr. Rampton has said
15 since he has said he checked it. What comment you want to
16 make arising from that is entirely a matter for you.
17
18 MR. MORRIS: With respect, I accept that the documents are no
19 longer in that file. I would just like to see if those
20 documents have actually been removed or whether they never
21 existed, which he may be able to tell from having the
22 original file. For example, if the numbering system is
23 such or whether it is a solid file but some pages have been
24 torn out, etcetera, etcetera. I think that is quite
25 reasonable request which the Plaintiffs, obviously, would
26 have no grounds on refusing. It would help the court to
27 identify the matter that is in dispute.
28
29 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What do you say about that, Mr. Rampton?
30
31 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, frankly -- I am trying to be polite -- it
32 is not right. Not only does the file not contain material
33 which Mr. Morris wished it did, it is not a file in the
34 sense it is a bound file. It is not a file from which
35 pages can be torn out. It is a loose leaf file with
36 distinct sections. There is no indication that documents
37 of the kind that Mr. Morris wants to see ever were or ever
38 would have been in that file.
39
40 Mrs. Brinley-Codd tells me, having taken instructions from
41 her clients, that if such documents ever existed they would
42 not have been in that file anyway.
43
44 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I am not prepared to make any further order
45 for discovery than I have done. If you want to ask
46 questions when witnesses come -----
47
48 MR. RAMPTON: Mr. Richards is probably going to come back and
49 other witnesses from Bath. Mr. Morris can ask as many
50 questions as he likes.
51
52 MR. MORRIS: Can we assume then that if the order was clearly
53 for the disclosure of those documents, that the Plaintiffs
54 are under an obligation, if they have those documents --
55 they are obviously relevant -- the fact that they may not
56 be in the service file would still mean that they are under
57 an obligation to disclose them, if they exist.
58
59 MR. JUSTICE BELL: They are under an obligation to disclose any
60 of the documents which I said should be disclosed at the
