PURCHASER’S FOLLY

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 70, 14 June 1927, Page 9

PURCHASER’S FOLLY

WELLINGTON HOTEL DEAL COURT REFUSES ORDER Piess Association. WELLINGTON, Monday. Judgment was given by Mr. Justice Alpers in the Supreme Court to-day in a claim for specific performance of a contract involving the purchase of the Trocadero Hotel on Lambton Quay. The dispute centred around the number of storeys the premises contained. In reviewing the evidence His Honour said the case was an extraordinary one, defendant having gone in for a contract involving £40,000 without inspecting buildings, even although he had resided at a hotel next door to the Trocadero for four or five days some little time before. His Honour thought the building was one of five storeys, but he thought the statement should be qualified in some such way as to make it clear that the covered-inpor-tion on top was not so much as that of the other storeys. It was true that the purchaser had largely himself to thank for the present litigation, and while the way he entered into the deal was a piece of folly on his part, that did not prevent him from going to Court. He thought plaintiffs must fail in their prayer for a decree for specific „ performance.

Costs were allowed on the highest scale, with two extra days at 15 guineas.