IN BANKRUPTCY.

Shannon News, 6 July 1928, Page 3

IN BANKRUPTCY.

MEETING OF CREDITORS.

A meeting of creditors in the bankrupt estate of John Howard Andrew, draper, Shannon, was held in Palmerston yesterday, the D.0.A., Mr C. Dempsy, presiding. Mr A. M. Dunkley represented bankrupt and Mr Adams appeared for the Staples' estate. The unsecuied creditors are:—Messrs J. L. Arcus (Wellington) £2O; G. H. Bennett and Co. £1 *1 vs 6d; E. D. Wycherley, £1 Us 6d; J. Mounsey and Co. £3 4s 3d; W. Donnelly 153 (all of Palmerston North); W. Walker, Levin, £1 ss; Levin Chronicle, 9s; L. F. Jones (Shannon) £1 8s sd; Howard Andrew, Ltd., c/o T. Forsyth, Wellington, £3291 Os Id; D. S. Mackenzie (Levin) £2 10s. Secured creditors are:—Advances to Settlers' Department, £1100; Mrs Gardner, £300; Sargood, Son and Ewen, Ltd. £525. The assets were shown as nil. BANKRUPT’S STATEMENT.

.. Bankrupt, in his statement, said: "I have been adjudicated bankrupt on the petition, of the executors of the Staples estate, Manakau. The debt for which they obtained judgment does not really belong to me at all, but is on account of Howard Andrew, Ltd., a company duly incorporated under the Companies Act. The amount of judgment is £sl 11s 6d, being a quaitor's interest on £1950 borrowed by Howard Andrew, Ltd. Judgment was obtained against me in error. I have endeavoured to arrange for the matter to be dealt with without bankruptcy proceedings, but have not been -successful in so doing. My. counsel has also objected to the filing of the bankruptcy petition which was heard before the Registrar of the Supreme Court in Palmerston North. My counsel is of opinion that, if I take the case to a higher authority, in all probability the bankruptcy will be annulled. This .is, of course, expensive, so on the advice of my counsel, I have decided not to take further steps towards annulling the bankruptcy but to allow you to deal with the claim by which I have been adjudicated bankrupt. "Outside the claim of Staples estate I have only the ordinary incidental recounts to pay and these will be paid by me in full out of my earnings. I may say that the' Staples estate has made a claim, against Howard Andrew, Ltd., now in liquidation, for the £1950 and the amount of £sl 11s 6d for which judgment was confessed by the company at the same time as judgment was obtained by the estate against me. In the petition to the court, when they made the claim of £1950 against the company, the petitioning creditors stated that they had no security for the said debt. If that is so, then there should be no claim against me at all, because the only way they can claim would be in connection with myself as a guarantor. Therefore, if you deem it advisable to reject Staples' claim against me, then the bankruptcy will bVannulled. Finally, I have never been in business on my oWn -account, the company being the concern which carried on a general storekeeping business at Shannon."

Questioned by Mr Adams, bankrupt said that the summons was served on him personally, but he had not read it and forwarded it to Mr .Arcus. He did not know that there were two summonses. The whole matter had been left in the hands of Mr Arcus and the solicitor. The money (£1950) had been borrowed from Mr Staples, senr., about 1922, and the receipt had been signed by bankrupt on behalf of Howard Andrew, Ltd. Later, he had given a personal acknowledgment. Questioned further, bankrupt denied that he had given the acknowledgment as a personal liability; it was to have a definite date of repayment fixed. He was the managing director and latterly, he and his wife were the only shareholders in Howard Andrew, Ltd.

In answer to Mr Dunkley, bankrupt said that Mr Arcus had no knowledge of the receipt given to Mr Staples on behalf of the company. In reference to the two summonses, Mr Arcus had inadvertently made a mistake in instructing that judgment be confessed. Of the loan money, he, personally, had handled none of it.

The receipts for the money borrowed were then submitted by Mr Dunkley, showing that it had been borrowed by the company and not by Mr Andrew.

The meeting was then adjourned sine die.