SUPREME COURT.

Evening Star, Issue 2944, 26 July 1872, Page 2

SUPREME COURT.

CIAHL SITTINGS. (Before Mr Justice Chapman and a Special Jury.) HUNTER V. CARGILL AND OTHERS,

Mr Macassey, with whom was Mr Howworth, for the plaintiff; Mr Barton, with him Mr Stewart, conim. The plain!iff in this action is David Hunter, of Dunedin, contractor, and the defendants Edward Bowes Cargill, James Sounuess, and John Gordon Diack, who as a committee of the Deacons’ Court of St. Andrew’s Church, Dunedin, signed .a contract with the plaintiff for the erection of the present building. The plaintiff seeks to recover the sum of L 455 12s, balance alleged to lie due to him for work and labor done and materials supplied to the defendants in erecting the church. Of this sum L.4 12s is an amount admitted to be unpaid under the contract, and the ba’anco of 1,451 for certain extra work alleged by plaintiff to have been done for and at the request of the defendants. There is a second count claiming LSOO damages for the wrongful conversion by defendants of the scats, stairs, lining, &c., which constitute part of the alleged extras. The defendants plead—first, a general denial, recite the contact for the erection of the church, and allege as to the balance of L 4 12s, that payments were only to be made on certificates of the architect, and that such certificate has not been given ; further, that the items making up the sum of L 451 was for extras wi bin the meaning of of the contract, and as such should have been ordered in writing by the defendants or their architect ; and as to the second count, that the goods and chattels alleged to be wrongfully converted were not the property of the plaintiff, as alleged. And for a special plea the defendants say that the right to sue under the contract was before action brought ass’gned to the Bank of Otago. The plaintiff replied by a general denial of the material parts of the pleadings; alleged a waiver by the defendants of the observance of the condition requiring a written order for extras ; that the alleged extras were ordered in writing by the defendants and their architect; that the assignment to the Bank of Otago left the right of action still with the plaintiff. The defendants by their rejoinder denied all the material allegations of the replication. jVJo.ssrs J- G. Drack and J. P. Millar, members of the Deacon's Court, and Mr Lawson, architect of the church, were Ruder examination yesterday ; but most of the time was occupied by counsel discussing questions of fie admissability of certain portions of the evidence.

To-day, Mr Law son and Mr Hunter were examined.