QUESTION OF CONTRACT.

Taranaki Daily News, 2 June 1922, Page 7

QUESTION OF CONTRACT.

CLAIM BY BUILDER. MAGISTRATE’S DECISION REVERSED. An appeal over a builder’s claim was heard by Mr. Justice Reed in the Supreme Court, New Plymouth, last week, and yesterday His Honor gave decision, in which he reversed the Magistrate’s ruling. The appellant was ■Stanley Buckrell, farmer, of Whakamara, and the respondent was John M. Thomson, builder, of Hawera. Certain alterations and additions were effected to BuckrelPs house by Thomson, and . the. issues in .the case were (1) Was there a contract to do certain work for the sum of , £495 17s?; (2) Were certain items listed all extras?; (3) If it . was a contract, was cartage included ?; • (4) If there was no contract, what was the arrangement? The Magistrate found that there was no fixed sum.

In> giving judgment on the appeal, Mr. Justice Reed remarked that this decision was not based on direct evidence, but on inferences drawn from facts and documents. After reviewing certain aspects of the case, His Honor pointed out that when the wonk was in hand about six months the question of paying for the cartage of materials arose between the parties. He was of opinion this could not have arisen if there had been a fixed price. His Honor therefore held that there was a contract to do certain work. This reversed the Magistrate’s finding on that point. The other issues depended largely on the degree of credibility of the various witnesses. He therefore decided that the case -should be remitted to the Magistrate with the intimation that the first issue should be answered in the affirmative, leaving the other issues to be decided by him. His Honor said he had been asked to say upon whom the onus lay, but he did not think he should embarrass the Magistrate by making any such decision. The question of costs was reserved.