ACTION FOR DAMAGES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume L, Issue 3912, 28 February 1929, Page 3

ACTION FOR DAMAGES.

CLAIM AGAINST NEWSPAPERS. £450 DAMAGES AWARDED. Invercargill, February 26. The' hearing of the case brought against thej “Southland News” Company and the “Southland Times” Company by the Southland Fanners’ Cash Supply Service, was continued this morning in the -Supre/me Court, before His Honour Mr. Justice MacGregor. In this case, in which for the sake of convenience the action was consolidated, plaintiffs claimed a total of £3OOO, being £SOO for special damages for loss of customers, and £IOOO for general damages for libellous publication from each newspaper company. Further evidence was given by farmers in support of the defence’s plea of justification, after which Mr. Loiiguet (for plaintiffs) said tliat to prove justification defendants had to show that plaintiffs had swindled. That would be difficult to do. They would have to show that the firm had set out to defraud from the bgginning of its operations. Swindle implied cheating and deceit, and it certainly was a defamatory and actionable word. Mr. Longuet then called 16 witnesses, 14 of whom were farfmers, who expressed satisfaction with the service they had received from the plaintiffs.

Invercargill, Last Night. The libel action brought against Hie Southland News Company -and Southland Times 'Company by the Southland Farmers’ Cash Supply Service, was concluded this morning in the Supreme -Court, before Mr. Justice MacGregor. After hearing further evidence His -Honour entered judgment for plaintiffs for £9OO damages, with costs as per scale, disbursements and witnesses’ expenes to be fixed by the registrar along with £ls 15s costs for each of the extra days of the trial, said damages and costs to ibe apportioned between the two defendants in equal shares.