Day 277 - 10 Jul 96 - Page 04
1 involved in the exercise, which I think everyone has
2 recognised -- you agree these, and we will agree these.
3 The problem is, for us to identify the documents that are
4 not on the list takes some time and the Plaintiffs are
5 concerned that, you know, that the deadline is ticking away
6 and they would have to basically go away and prove all the
7 documents -- which would be an enormous effort and expense
8 -- that they want to rely on and, really, to avoid that,
9 it would be helpful. We do not want to say 'We agree with
10 these documents' and then later say, 'Now, will you agree
11 with this' and they say, 'Oh, no, we don't want to agree
12 that. You have already agreed the ones that we want to
13 rely on, that is your problem now'.
14
15 So, we basically want to do it all in one go, almost
16 like the mutual exchange of witness statements or mutual
17 exchange of listed documents, a mutual exchange of what we
18 both agree is admissible. So, that exercise might take
19 some time, but we certainly agree that 95 per cent of the
20 documents on the list do not seem to us to present a
21 problem. But we do need to check, because some of the
22 documents are quite -- there are a lot of grey areas of
23 what exactly it is we are saying is admissible and what is
24 not. So, it would be helpful if, for example, the deadline
25 could apply to the general 'how many of these documents are
26 admissible' without any debate or discussion in court, and
27 then there be some further deadline for the outstanding
28 documents to be proved, which may be the beginning of, you
29 know, before we come back for closing speeches.
30
31 But by then it would be known which documents are, if
32 you like, up in the air.
33
34 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, thank you. Do you want to say anything
35 about it?
36
37 MS. STEEL: No.
38
39 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What I will do is, I will withdraw the
40 deadline of 31st July for the calling of evidence, the
41 withdrawal being limited to evidence required to prove any
42 of the documents on Mrs Brinley-Codd's list or any
43 equivalent list provided by the defendants. Put another
44 way, what I will not be prepared to hear after the end of
45 July is any evidence apart from evidence which is required
46 to prove any documents on Barlow Lyde & Gilbert's list or
47 any equivalent list provided by the defendants.
48
49 Do you understand what I am saying Mr. Atkinson?
50
51 MR. ATKINSON: Yes, I think so.
52
53 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do you understand?
54
55 MR. MORRIS: I think so. We have to do our list by 31st July.
56
57 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Not necessarily, the later you leave it the
58 less amenable I may be to have having evidence in relation
59 to it because I cannot offer any opinion on what my view
60 will be, and I do not even know what documents you have
