LOST FUR COAT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 2388, 4 February 1922, Page 3

LOST FUR COAT.

LITIGATION BETWEEN OWNER AND RACING CLUB, The loss of a woman’s musquash fur coat left, by the owner in the cloakroom at Trentham racecourse last year has led to prolonged litigation in the Alagistrate’s and Supreme Courts. The Alagistrate having entered judgment for the plaintiff, who claimed the amount of the coat’s value from the Racing Club, an appeal was entered by the club trustees, and His Honour Air Justice Chapman (who is relieving on the Supreme Court Bench) heard legal argument on Thursday. The plaintiff in the original action was Aliss Louisa Emily Symons, of 22 Oriental Terrace, Wellington. Aliss Symons had claimed £75 from the Racing Club for the loss of her coat. She had gone to the races on July 13th last, and had handed her coat to the caretakers of the cloakroom. Her sister (Airs Toogood) :iri(l Mrs Young were with her at the time. She was handed a ticket by the caretaker, as were her eompnn-. ions, but at the end of the day her coat could not he found, although .she still had the ticket. She complained that, she had received little sympathy'from either the-police or tiie secretary of the racing club. Tim secretary (A. E. Whyte) had said in the court below that the caretaker of the room made no charge for the care of coats. “We are not in business as cloak-room proprietors,” he had added. The Alagistrate had given judgment for £■?() for the plaintiff, with costs.

The grounds of the appeal were that the defendants, being gratuitous bailees, could only have been held liable if held to be guilty of gross negligence; and they contended that they had not been, and had not been found to have been guilty of this. They claimed to have exercised all reasonable care in safeguarding the coat, and contended that the Magistrate’s decision was against the weight of evidence. Messrs M. Myers and H. F. 0 - Leary appeared for the appellants, and Mr G. Toogood for the respondent. Decision was reserved. —Dominion.