SUPREME COURT

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2823, 14 July 1916, Page 9

SUPREME COURT

A MOTOR-CAR AGENCY A CLAIM FOR £9,875 His Honour tho Chief Justice, Sir liobert Stout, presided at tho Supremo Itourt yesterday morning, when L. i'. Wullis and L'o., Ltd., of Wellington, sued tun Dominion Motor Vehicles, Ltd. (C. 15 • _Nonvood, managing director)' ior .tilß7a, for alleged breach of contract. Mr. C v l'. Skerrett, K.C., and with him Mr. F. ij. Petherick, appeared for tho plaintiffs, and Sir Jolin i'mdl-ay, K..C., nnd with him Mr. D. M.. Ji'indlay, for the defendants. ■ Mr. Skerrett, in opening tho ease for tho plaintiffs, &ut>uitt<xl that by an agreement dated October 7 last year tho plaintiffs were appointed solo agents and granted tho sole right of selling Chevrolet motor-cars lor that part of the South Island north of a line drawn from HuruHoss._ The agreement was sjgned by "C. J3. Norwood," managing director 01 the defendant company, and the sell ing basis was fixed at 21) per cent, and 2j per cent, on indent oruers, and 17J l>er cent, and per cent, on orders from stock. Acting on this agreement, tho plaintiffs went to the expense of introducing'tho cars in tho territory mentioned. Th«y also paid .£25 as a depostl upon a demonstration car, but neither such car nor such deposit had beon yet delivered or returned. Indeed, the defendants violated their agreemeut, ami caused plaintiffs loss, although the plaintiffs wero ready and willing to proceed, and had proceeded to carry out their part of the agreements Under this part of the agreement plaintiffs claim they lost the sale of at least sixty cars bearing a profit of .£6O each had tho defendants fulfilled their part of the agreement entered into. A second cause of action was for the refund of the deposit of .£25. A third cause of action was tho non-de-livery of cars for sale within tho City of Wellington, which right, by a letter dated August 25, 1915, was conferred to plaintiffs by defendants and confirmed by them by agreement six weeks, later. An order and deposit for a car was accepted by tho defendants in confirmation of this arrangement, but neither of tho cars had boon delivered. Bv defendants' action plaintiffs considered they lost the profit on at least 20 cars. The right of renewal of the agreement was a further ground of action for damages, which wero based upon these respective grounds and aggregated X 9875. Tho evidence of L. F. Wallis was led in support of plaintiffs' case. He admitted that Norwood had proposed a vari-i----tion of tho contract, and a reduction of the discount from 20 per cent., to 15 per cent. He had offered to meet tho defendant and' settle tho case before tho writ was issued. In pursuance of the contract the plaintiffs ordered thirty cars, tut they wero not delivered.

C. Sweeney and G. 13. M'Kcnzie also gave evidence, and the case was proceeding when tho Court adjourned till 10.30 this morning.

A STREET-WIDENING CASE. Their Honours tho Chief Justice, Sir Robort Stout, and Mr. Justice Edwards, delivered their reserved judgments in the questions submitted to the Court oil an originating summons to determine the moaning of Sections 116 and 117 of fchu Public Works Act, 1908, and its amendments, and particularly Sub-section 7 of Section ll(i. The case was that oi the Wellington .City Council against tho District Land Registrar . and- Andrew Comnton. aud others, of Kilbirnie. . ilr. J. 0 Shea appeared for the plaintiff, Mr 1\ S. K. Macassey for the District Land Registrar, and Mr. J. C. Peacock lot Andrew Compton.

It was contended on behalf of the plainlilt tliat whore land abutting on a road had been subdivided, and such road was shown on a plan deposited in the District Land Registrar's office before I'JOO. the owner of such land could still further subdivide, without setting back the lroutage. Mr. Macassey contended that Sub-sec-tion 7 of Section 116 of the Act quoted was merely declaratory, and. was passed for tho purpose of protecting those o'.vneis who had subdivided land for sale, abutting on a road where the subdivision was shown on u plan deposited with the District Land Registrar before .15)00, and that in the case of any new subdivision after I'JOO tho frontage' must be set back. Their Honours upheld the. contentions put forward on behalf of the Land Registrar, and the effect of the judgment is that Andrew Compton and others are entitled to compensation for the land dedicated for the widening.of tho road for which the City Corporation will pay. THE CAWTHRON ESTATE. On behalf of the Full Court that heard argument of counsol, Their Honours Sir Robert Stout; Chief Justice, and Mr. Justice Edwards, delivered judgment in the matters of the estate of the late Thomas Cawthron, of Nelson, which were brought before the Court last week. The questions submitted were dealt with by Their Honours seriatim: 1. The orection of a tomb was not possible under tho terms of the will, as the place where the will directed the tomb to bo erected had ceased to be a public cemetery, therefore the Court ordered that the tomu should bo erected at the Nelson public cemetery at AVakapuaka, where deceased was buried. 2. As tho testator had constituted himself trustee for Mrs. Wright of certain sections of land in tho city of Nelson, tho Court ordered that tho sections bo convoyed to her. 3. RegardI ing the claim of Maud Bright. (Mrs. Cook) the Court held that the testato.uo doubt intended to give a section of land in the City of .Nelßon to Mrs. Cook, but tho Court could make no order, as there was no written evidence of the testator having constituted himself her trußteb fo* tho land; but if Parliament should hereafter be called upon to deal with the estato by statute, no doubt tho intention of the testator in this'respect could be given effect to. i and 5: Estate duty, the Court held, is not payable by beneficiaries, but must come out of tho original estate, as it is a testamentary expense. Tho beneficiaries must, however, pay succession duty. G. Tho annuitants were entitled to receive payment of their annuities from tho death of tho testator, October 8, 1915, and payments to be made on the first of every month. 7. As to tho question of succession of trustees or executors of Thomas Cawthron, tho Court, held that the trus. tees will not cease to be trustees when they cease to hold tho offices they now hold. If a trustee should die the Court could no doubt appoint tho person holding tho ofiice which the deceased trustee held when the testator died, if that person was willing to accept tho appointment; this matter could only be effectually dealt with by an Act of Parliament. 8. The costs of ail parties must he taxed by the Registrar in Wellington, and paid out of the estate as a testamentary expense. \ Messrs. Rout, Milncr, and Gully, of Nelson, were tho solicitors for all parties, and Mr. P. S. IC. Macassey appeared for tho Attorney-General.