NEW TRIAL REFUSED

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 290, 28 February 1928, Page 16

NEW TRIAL REFUSED

CAR COLLISION CLAIM £379 DAMAGES AWARDED •In dismissing the application by Mr. J. J. Sullivan for a new trial in an accident case in the Supreme Court yesterday, Mr. Justice Reed said he did not think the verdict was defective. The application was made in respect of a claim for damages resulting from an accident in which Thomas Horace Ellis (Mr. F. D. McLiver) was awarded £379 by a jury for injuries he received through being knocked down by a motor-car driven by John Farrell, contractor (Mr. Sullivan). Supporting the motion for a new trial, Mr. Sullivan said the verdict of the jury had been unsatisfactory, and that it had been against the weight of evidence. The jury had returned a verdict by a majority of nine to three that the accident had been caused by the negligence of both parties, but that defendant was primarily responsible. His negligence caused plaintiff to become “flustered,” so as to contribute to the accident. His Honour had accepted this as a verdict for the plaintiff. After argument His Honour said the verdict was not defective and had to be taken in conjunction with the charge he had given to the jury. In effect the jury found that the defendant was negligent in the way he had approached the plaintiff, who was in full view of him in crossing the road. The application was dismissed and Judgment was entered for the plaintiff