SALES BY AUCTION.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIV, Issue 90, 16 April 1913, Page 8

SALES BY AUCTION.

AST UNLUCKY PURCHASER. HAS TO RETURN GOODS. A case of some interest to purchasers at auctions wa_ heard by Mr. C. C. Kettle, S.SL, at the Magistrate's Court yesterday. A claim was made by Edward Turner (Mr. R. P. Towle) against F. W. Snelling (Mr.. Stilling) for the recovery of a gelding, spring cart, and set of harness. Mr. Towle stated that -the parties nnd reached an agreement as to the facts of the case, which were as follows: — The gelding, cart and harness were assigned to the plaintiff under a chattel mortgage by one Henry John Ulake, under the mutual arrangement that the 'latter should not part with them. At a later stage the plaintiff found that Blake had taken them to Alfred Buckland and Sons' auction mart, where they were sold to Snelling, from whom the plaintiff was now seeking to recover them. His Worship heard legal argument on the contention that the chattels were sold in " market overt," in which case the seller's lack .of title to the goods would not have invalidated the sale. For the plaintiff it was contended that such a thing as "market overt," or perfcctlyopcn and public, as opposed to private "market, did not exist in New Zealand, several authorities having expressed an opinion to that effect. ' His Worship held that he had to decide whether the sale would stand against the legal instrument covering the goods, and in his opinion it would not. as he did not consider that the sale took place in "market overt," even supposing that such an institution existed in the Dominion. An order was accordingly made for the delivery of the chattels by the defendant. * .»'.