CLAIMS TO CHEQUE

Press, Volume C, Issue 29511, 12 May 1961, Page 10

CLAIMS TO CHEQUE

Woman Held Owner A cheque for £269 7s lOd was the property of Joan Millow. now Joan Jurrius. wife of a bankrupt. Theodorus Everadus Jurrius. and therefore should not pass to the Official Assignee <Mr O. T. Grattan) as part of Jur- : rius’s estate in bankruptcy, 'said Mr Justice Macarthur in the Supreme Court yesterday. His Honour was giving an oral judgment in an action, in which Joan Millow and the Official Assignee claimed | the cheque. j Mr J. N. Matson appeared I for Millow and Mr A. Hearn ■ for the Official Assignee I when his Honour gave judgement.

i His Honour said he found as a fact at an earlier hearing that the cheque for £269 1 7s lOd was the property of 'Miss Millow, as she was the ' owner of the sheep which i realised that sum. The sheep had been sold to Thomas -Borthwick and Sons. Ltd., |for slaughter, by Jurrius. Jurrius had a contract with Miss Millow to buy stock for her and sell them to her and pay the proceeds into her account, he to receive onethird of any piofit on the deals. On April 20. 1959. Jurrius filed a petition of bankruptcy. It had been argued that Jurrius had the reputed ownership of the stock and/ or proceeds at that time. “No Consent” His Honour found that Miss Millow’ had never given her consent to Jurrius’s [ownership of any stock purchased by him on behalf of her. He further found that Jurrius did not have any reputed ownership in such circumstances that anyone dealing with him would infer that he had an asset for obtaining credit. “Jurrius’s financial position at the relevant date, April 20, 1959, was notorious, and anyone dealing with him , must have known, or could | have known on inquiry, that I he had no assets for the purpose of obtaining credit. His farm had been sold up and his tractor seized. He could not buy stock at any auction sale except for cash,” his-Honour said. He therefore found that Jurrius did not have reputed ownership in such circumstances from which it could be inferred he had assets on which he could obtain credit by false pretences. He said the order of the Court was that the £269 cheque should pass to Miss Millow, now Mrs Jurrius. It could be held that she owed Jurrius one-third of the profit from the deal, under the contract between her and Jurrius at the time, and that that sum, if any, could be part of Jurrius’s estate in •bankruptcy. His Honour adjourned the bearing to allow counsel engaged to consider the question of costs.

Liner Late Berthing.— The 42.000-ton liner Oriana was more than an hour late in berthing at Auckland this morning because of tidal con. ditions. She brought 1582 passengers from Sydney, 528 of whom disembarked at Auckland— <P.A.)