Day 016 - 22 Jul 94 - Page 05

     
     1        would say this chart cannot be relied upon as in any way
              relevant to the material times of the case.
     2
         MR. RAMPTON:  Mr. Morris repeatedly forgets that the first
     3        plaintiff in this case is McDonald's Corporation of
              America.  This leaflet has been distributed all over the
     4        world.
 
     5   MR. MORRIS:  I was talking about the times.
 
     6   MS. STEEL:   Can I say something?  In the pleadings the
              plaintiffs have said they are not complaining of
     7        distribution elsewhere than in England.
 
     8   MR. RAMPTON:  That is not the point.
 
     9   MS. STEEL:   It is a fact.
 
    10   MR. RAMPTON:  Ms. Steel misunderstands. It is not a question of
              where publication is complained of; it is a question of
         what the truth was of the American corporation as of the
              English corporation from 1976, if you like, to date.
    12
         MS. STEEL:  It is a question of what we are responsible for. If
    13        you are not complaining of distribution in the USA, you
              cannot hold us responsible for whether it relates to the
    14        USA or not.
 
    15   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Can we stop this.  You say that, but that
              may be a matter of argument as to whether someone, albeit
    16        based abroad, can, nevertheless, be defamed in this
              country.  You could, for instance, make defamatory remarks
    17        in this country of a well known American politician.  It
              would not matter that he happened to spend 99 per cent of
    18        his time, or all of it, in America, and was an American
              citizen.
    19
              Can I make one point to you because I do not want you to
    20        be under any illusion -- when we were going through
              yesterday some of the menus which we had and what their
         total fat, saturated fat, sodium content and percentages
              were, things of that kind, if you want to attack that, you
    22        can attack it in various ways, but they will not all
              necessarily pack the same punch at the end of the day.
    23
         MR. MORRIS:  I understand that.
    24
         MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Suppose you say -- this is by way of example
    25        only -- this 16 year old boy had a very light McDonald's
              supper.  Therefore, you can say you do not meet many 16 
    26        year olds who have something like that for supper; I am 
              particularly not choosing a particular instance; 
    27        therefore, you should not attach weight to that table.
 
    28   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.
 
    29   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You might succeed with that argument; you
              might not.  If, on the other hand, you say:  "Look what
    30        they have there for a particular meal, salad,
              cheeseburger, after the cheese was cut down; if that