SPECIAL LAW REPORTS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 6, 2 October 1907, Page 6

SPECIAL LAW REPORTS.

SUPREME COURT. RESERVED JUDGMENT. LIABILITY FOll HOTEL REPAIRS. Mr. Justice Cooper delivered his reserved judgment in tho ease Thomas Messiter (appellant.) v. Hugo William Wollerman and Walter Freeman (respondents) yesterday morning. This was an appeal, on fact and law, from tho decision of Dr. MeArthur, S.M., who gave judgment in farour of respondents for £111) and costs in a suit for £172 17s. 2d., being moneys claimed 'to have been expended, on behalf of appellant, m effecting repairs to an hotel at Otaki, of which tlioy held tho head lease. The grounds of tho appeal were, shortly, as follow:—

(1). That tho respondents wore not entiled to sue, Wollennan's interest being vested in the Official Assignee, iiid Freeman' having assigned his es'■'vte to trustees for the benefit of his liters. The assignment in ques•i contained an exception from the .operty assigned of property of a leasehold tenure, and, therefore, iimited this ground of appeal to the question of tho effect of Wollerman's bankrupts}' upon the capacity of the respondents to.sue: (2) that tho appellant was under no liability to repay tne respondents any sum expended by them Upon the hotel in compliance with the requisition of the Licensing Committee, and (3) that, if appellant was, tho amount allowed by'the magistrate was excessive and ought to lie reduccd to £30.

His Honour held'that the first ground of appeal had not been established. Inter alia, ho pointed out that oho •right to Wollennan's interest in the leasehold passed the Official Asfjtgneo upon Wis:. ,x's bankruptcy %' virtuo of .section o5 of "The.Bankruptcy Act 1593," but the fact that no transmission was registered left yested_ in Wollorman—notwithstanding his bankruptcy—tho legal' right, •jointly with .Freeman, to desl with •such estate or interest. Tlio provisions df ''The Land Transfer Act" and the principle of law that a tenant could not (with certain exceptions) dispute his landlord's title, 'prevented the appellant from 'objeefc•rag,' to Wollfcrrhan's capacity to sue ,*s one of the plaintiffs in tho action. There was also another ground upon r?hich, in the opinion of His Honour, ■-ihe. proper parties were liefore the '.Court. Tho moneys sued for ' were expended by Wollorman since his' vbankrnpfcy, tho evidence being rthat Wollerman paid for, the ro'pairs. Wollorman's interest in any •imount recoverable from tho appellant' was, therefore, an interest which was in the nature of aftoracquired property, and after-acquired property continued in the bankrupt until the Official Assignee interfered to--claim it. There had been no intervention, and the fact ,of Wollerman's bankruptcy,, without such intervention, was not an available defence.

• The second ground of appeal was dealt with, at considerable length, -.lis Honour held that tho requisition made by tho Licensing' Commit- • coe was a lawful one; that it was ono which the appellant had covenanted to comply with; and also that it was one which tho appellant had, •by • virtue of clause 7 of the lease, :aut-horised' tho respondents, as his attorneys, to carry out. Tho. respondents had effected the repairs, and, ! thus, having complied with the Co>ailuittee's requirements, , appellant's liability to repay to them the moneys' so expended' by them accrued. Regarding itlic third'ground of appeal, His Honour "saiJl ho 'was of opinion tho Magistrate. bid ' fairly assessed tho cost of the work. The Magistrate's decision wis held to be right and the a;jpeal was 'dismissed with ten guineas costs. , Mr. ?/lenteath, who appeared for kthe appellant, was granted • leave to appeal. Mr. Skcr'rett, K.C. (with him Mr. Sharp) represented the respondents. IN BANKRUPTCY. His Honour Mr. Justice Cooper, held a sitting in Bankruptcy yester-i day morning. The Official Assignee (Mr. James' Aslicroft) applied to be released from the following estates: —William Warding Taylor, Josoph Walter Bull, Jos•oph Myers, Francis Bernard Haug.hcy, Daniel Darlincton, Herbert Murray Norjris, John Reuben Shelley, Robert Mit-chell Cochrane,, Arthur ,'Lyfell Duncan, Jno. Windo'ley, John ■Blainford, Geo. Hugh McLeqd and Oscar Johnston'. His Honour intimated that' it wonld be nccessary for. tho Official Assignee t-o file fresh affidavits, as there was a mistake in tlm jurat .if those filed in support of the application. When that was done, he would make the order', asked for, witho.it further application' on the part of the Official Assignee. . DISCHARGE ADJOURNED. Robert ' Low, building contractor, applied for his discharge. In reply to the Official Assignee, debtor stated that'ho had'been, in business about five years. Until '.laTly in. 1906 he had no difficulty in meeting lii.s engagements. . Unexpected difficulties m preparing sites •and placing the building material thereon had lsd to heavy losses. The Official Assignee inforijied the Court {fori tlio position of tho estate was as follows Liabilities, £1250; assets (excluding a few unrealised items), £100. During tho past few years,. a number ,of contractors had .become bankrupt, and it would ap,pear that tlioy did not conduct their 'business with that prudence and care one would expect. In his opinion, cases of that kind were vory unsatisfactory. His Honour said that, as tho estate had not yet been wound up, lie would adjourn tho application until November 25. IN CHAMBERS. Sitting in Chambers,. His Honour tho Chief Justice (Sir Robert Stout) ■{ranted letters of administration in the estate of Myra Frances Hassard. (deceased), of St. Urcli. No cases were set down yesterday for hearing, in tho Supremo Court today.