DAMAGES CLAIM

Hokitika Guardian, 6 September 1929, Page 1

DAMAGES CLAIM

£350 ALLOWED. v ßy Telegraph—Press Association). HAMILTON, Sept. 5. Having been accused of theft, arrested, t/ied and acquitted, Mrs Bertha ■Prescott, widow, of Huntly, who is known as Mrs Watson, sued her accuser, A. E. Powell, theatre proprietor, for £IOOO damages and legal expenses. She alleged that the charge had been preferred maliciously, without a reasonable and probable cause. The case was tried before Mr Justice Ostler and a jury. The evidence showed that the plaintiff, Mrs Prescott, kept a boarding house. The defendant came there as a boarder. They lived as man and wife for nearly three years. She eventually sold the establishment to him, intending to return to England with her son. A dispute arose regarding the ownership of. a bed, which she claimed had not been included in the sale of the boardinghouse to Powell. She sold the bed on her own account a few days before her boat was due to sail. Expecting her to leave, immediately, Powell laid the theft charge. The hearing lasted the whole day. The jury found that there was malice and that .there was a lack of a reasonable or probable cause 'for the theft charge. They awarded £350 damages. The case was adjourned till Tuesday for legal argument.