MOUTOA LANDS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 248, 17 September 1940, Page 6

MOUTOA LANDS

SUM OF £62,385 AWARDED

COURT’S DECISION

Giving judgment to-day, the Compensation Court awarded Mr F. S. Easton, of Moutoa, the sum of £62,385 13s as payment for 4565 acres of land taken by the Crown at Moutoa for the purposes of flax research and development. The sum claimed was £119,754 Bs.

His Honour Mr Justice Smith presided. and there were associated with him as assessors Messrs M. F. Bourke (Wellington) and W. R. Birnie (Palmerston North). Mr M. B. Bergin (Foxton) 'appeared for claimant and Mr H. R. Cooper for the Crown. The hearing of the evidence occupied most of last week.

The full text of the judgment is as follows: —“This award has been determined by a majority of the Court, namely, by myself as President and by Mr Birnie as the assessor for the respondent. Mr Bourke, as assessor for the claimant, has found himself unable to agree. By section 76 of the Public Works Act,‘l92B, the determination of the majority is deemed to be the award of tho whole Court. “The awa'rd of the Court is as follows : The Court awards as compennation for all the land taken the sum of £62.,385 13s, plus interest at 4* per cent, per annum from the date of the talcing of the land until the date of payment -of the amount awarded, plus interest at 2 per cent, per annum for the period of one year from the date of payment. “The award is made independently of the amount of the adjustment of receipts and outgoings. The Court assumes that the parties will make such adjustment, as their counsel respectively stated they would. Each party will pay his own costa and disbursements. The President fixes the fees of each of the assessors at £ls 15s per day for five days and £2 2s for one day, such fees to be paid by each party to his own assessor.”