DROVER'S LOSS OF STOCK

Chronicle (Levin), 15 July 1946, Page 4

DROVER'S LOSS OF STOCK

j ALLEGATlONS OF NEGLtGfiNCE 1 J . •; r SUCCESSFUL LEVIN CLAlM Alleging negligent droving on the part of defendant, Brian Leslie Everton (Mr. N. M. Thomson) I claimed the sum of £54 10s for loss i of stock from William S. Armitage, : Junr. (Mr. A. W. York) ih the Levin Court on Friday. The defendant counter-clairhed for £5 16s, representing thTee days' droVing fees. ^he .case Was heard by •Mr. A. M! Goulding, S.M. Brian Leslie Everton said that ; the defendant had been engaged through the New Zealand Loan and Mercantile Agency Company to : pick up 34 cattle, purchased by the ; plaintiff at the Bulls sale, ahd ; .dfive them, along with a further 32 cattle, to be picked up from one, i Sandilands, to a farm at Whirokino. ! The cattle were to be dfiven. in ! three specified stages. At the comi pletion of the first stage the plaintiff 'phoned the defendant to ascertain the progress being made, ! and was informed that 4 or 5 cattle I had fallen out. The defendant Was [ instructed, therefore, to 'rest the i herd for 24 hours. On- the followI ing night the defendant - advised J that he had brought the main body 1 of cattle on to Himitangi, and j would pick up the cattle which had fallen out and hold them at Rongotea. Arrangements were made to meet the defendant the next day at the estimated time of arrival of the herd at the farm. The herd did not put in an , appearance. ! Returning home, plaintiff 'phonci ! the defendant, who said he had ! paddocked 60 cattle at the farm, ! and that he had still to gather up I the missing cattle. He admitted | becoming mixed up with another : mob of cattle at Himitangi. A' ; subsequent muster disclosed 58 i cattle of the original herd. Three bullocks were eventually recovered and one of the remaining missing j animals was known to be dead, the i other four being still unaccounted ! for. j William Sandilands gave evi- | dence of the eondition of the cattle | being driven by the defendant, and ! stated that at the time he met ! them they had shown signs of be- ! ing over driven, and were frothing badly at the mouth. He advised Armitage to rest the cattle for an 1 hour or so, as he said the bullocks he was joining with the herd were very prime and would not even foot it with them. William Stanley Armitage, in evidence, outlined the arrangements, involving three days. travelling, for the transfer of the cattle. He said that Everton had suggested the trip should be completed in two days, but he refused to concur. He said that when he released the cattle from the Bulls' saleyards .they came out. helter skelter, and raced madly about to the extent . of even distressing the dogs. He disclaimed that the cattle were in the eondition statea by Sandilands when the herds were -joined. Along the- route -there was a great amount of noxious weed co.ver into which some of the cattle could have disappeafed. He le£t two of the cattle which had knocked up in a paddock by arrangement with the owner. At the conclusion of the first stage, he left the cattle at a Mr. Cameron's and went back to the tWo he had left, which he brought on next morning to rejoin the herd, which tallied out at 62 when Cameron's was left. He received no instructions from Everton the first night, as the message was taken by his fathel'. At the end of the second day the herd, which had travelled sulkily, 'tallied 60> tWo having apparently disappeared into the lupins without being noticed. The stock was then paddocked at Himitangi, and dUring the night got mixed with another herd, but werg sorted out and he left with 60 cav tle. At the completion of the jour- - ney he paddocked . the stock a:c- ' cording to ihstru.c.tions, subsequeritly .ladvis£pg--' EhtfertoriF :>-pix cattle were missing. 'Three of the missing cattle had been returned to Everton afterward, and one which had also been found in an exhausted state, had died. Earl Francis Gorringe, stock buyer, gave evidence of having employed Armitage as a drover and expressed satisfaction with . his work-. He said that it was easy to lose cattle when they became strung out on a lupin-lined road such as that along which Armitage had to travel. Delivering judgment, His Worship said that it was clear to him that the cattle were obviously distressed when seen by Mr. Sandilands. He felt that the defendant did not exercise sufficient care, especially in view of Mr. Sandiland's warning. Judgment was given for the amount claimed, with court costs £2 15s, solicitor's fee £4 3s and witnesses' expenses 30s. The counter-claim was adjourned to allow counsel to negotiate in the matter.