Day 244 - 03 May 96 - Page 02
1 Friday, 3rd May 1996.
2
3 MR. MORRIS: I am not quite ready yet.
4
5 MR. JUSTICE BELL: While you are getting ready, I meant to
6 mention yesterday, and forgot, that it might help me when
7 Mr. Preston is recalled if he can give me what, at the
8 present date, are the total number of McDonald's
9 restaurants in the United States.
10
11 MR. RAMPTON: In the United States, my Lord?
12
13 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Firstly, stating how many are the First
14 Plaintiffs own and how many are franchisee owner/operators,
15 call them what you will,, not the number of owner/operators
16 but the number of restaurants which are run by
17 owner/operators and then the total number now in the United
18 Kingdom, stating how many the Second Plaintiffs own and how
19 many are run by franchisees. Then the number of countries,
20 including the United States of America and the United
21 Kingdom as one country, where there are McDonald's
22 restaurants.
23
24 Obviously he will not know that of his own knowledge, but
25 if he declares it in the witness box, I do not suppose it
26 will be challenged.
27
28 MR. RAMPTON: I hope he knows. If not, we will try to find out
29 before Tuesday.
30
31 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It may or may not turn out to be relevant to
32 any issue, but it is information I would like to have if it
33 can be obtained.
34
35 MR. RAMPTON: Would your Lordship also like to the know the
36 number of restaurants worldwide?
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL: If that is possible, yes.
39
40 MR. RAMPTON: I am sure it was available in Oakwood. Whether
41 Mr. Preston has it at his finger tips, I do not know.
42
43 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I have not divided that up into First or
44 Second Plaintiff's own and franchisees because I have
45 assumed that few, if any, of the restaurants in countries,
46 apart from the United States of America and the United
47 Kingdom, are run by the First Plaintiff or the Second
48 Plaintiff themselves, although some of the subsidiaries who
49 run them, the First Plaintiff may have a shareholding or
50 some kind of part ownership arrangement.
51
52 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, there is, I am afraid, one thing before
53 Mr. North is recalled. I spotted last night when I take to
54 be, as I did with yesterday's witness, some small passages
55 in the first of Mr. North's supplementary statement, the
56 one about the Preston E.Coli outbreak which, for the same
57 reasons, I have to submit are objectionable.
58
59 It is not something I want to have to do but I must do it
60 in my client's interest. It is for exactly the same reason
