A PREFERENTIAL PAYMENT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 3000, 24 September 1908, Page 5

A PREFERENTIAL PAYMENT.

DISTRICT COURT JUDGMENT. PAYEE ORDEaEJ TO DISGORGE. A lengthy judgment by His Honor Judge Haselden was received and delivered by the Registrar of the Wairarapa District Court (Mr M. Foley) yesterday, in the case of the Deputy 'Official Assignee v. J. B. Nicol, heard ?t the last sitting of the District Court in Mastc-rton. The action was a motion by the D.O.A. (Mr VV. B. Chennells, represented bv Mr A. R. Bunny), calling upon ■j" B. Nicol (Mr P. L. HollingsV to show cause why he should not pay to the D.O.A. in the bankrupt estate of F. B. McCay the sum ,of £IOO, paid to hi hi by the bankrupt on July 31st, 1908, on the ground that such payment was a fraudulent preference. Bankrfipt borrowed various sums from Nicol, totalling £IOO, and after agreeing at a meeting of his creditors in Wellington to assign his estate, ho returned the £IOO to Nico! only, as hte alleged, after continued pressure on tho part of the latter and threats to sue. Nicol stated that when he received the money he had no idea of bankrupts financuil position or that he had called a meeting of his creditors. His Honor, after traversing thefacts, said he had no doubt that this was fraudulent preference on the part of bankrupt. He had agreed to assign all his estate in trust for Irs creditors, and it was fraud on his part to diminish the estate subsequent to such an agreement. It seemed incredibje to suppose that Nicol had no suspicion of the state of bankrupt's affairs. His Honor believed that the debtor thought he was doing the right thing to let Nicol have his money back, but the law, which endeavoured to look at such matters from all points, had said that such was a fraudulent preference and might not stand. On the facts Ilis 1-Jonor ordered the defendant to refund to the D.O.A. £IOO in the estate of McCay, with solicitor's I fee £7 7s and Court costs 15s.