EXTRAORDINARY CASE.

Auckland Star, Volume LV, Issue 166, 15 July 1924, Page 8

EXTRAORDINARY CASE.

CLAIM FOR DAMAGES. jl ( I ACTION IN NELSON COURT. The Magistrate's Court at Nelson was engaged from 10.30 a.m. until after 4 p.m. on Julr 11 in hearing a civil action Elizabeth and Arthur Collins (mother . and son) v. Grant Bros., a claim for . £200 damages arising out of storage ! of goods. The facts disclosed were that j defendants in 1914 received (through carrying firms a number of boxes, ' Ininks, etc., from C'hristchurch and ! Auckland containing the personal be- . longings of Dr. and Mrs. Collins, who 1 rame to reside in Nelson. The doctor ] subsequently died at Wakefield. After unsuccessfully endeavouring to get in " touch with Mrs. Collins after she left Kelson, defendants caused the goods to be sold by auction in 1918. In 1923 Mrs. Collins wrote to defendants about tlie goods and received a reply that J they had been sold to pay expenses. At the outset of tlie case Mr. Moy- ; na<*h, for defendants, raised a preliminary objection, that the action was outside the jurisdiction of the magistrate. ' The evidence of J. W. Grant, called j by Hr. Acheson for plaintiffs, was to ■ ■the effect that the goods realised about , £12. Some of them were of no vaTue . and were sent to the tip head. While , the goods were in store both Dr. Collins and Mrs. Collins opened the boxes and took away articles. Elizabeth Collins, in evidence, said tlie boxes had only been opened to see ( if the articles were in good order. Most of the contents were her own personal belongings. After leaving Kelson she wrote to defendants in 1023 from Auckland, inquiring about her account for storage, and was then informed that they had been stold. Her husband had died intestate. Formidable List. A formidable list containing 111 ■ items was then gone through seriatim in. order to'arrive at their value. The ' list contained silver, a fur coat valued at £16, an inlaid table £35, house and table linen, an Eastern gown £50, sealskin coat £50, sea pearl necklace stated to be 200 years old, silk and satin dresses and various other articles. Many of the listed articles were stated to be family heirlooms. The female plaintiff usually described most of the articles to be as good as new, although in a number of instances they were over 12 years old. She had never removed any of the articles -while they were in store, except a few small things. Plaintiff put in a photograph of herself ■wearing a sealskin coat, which was stated to be at least 20 years old.Arthur Gould, auctioneer, called by Mr. Acheson, said he sold a quantity of unclaimed luggage in 1918 under instructions from defendants. There were half a dozen or so trunks and boxes. The sale realised £12 3/. Be--1 fore selling the contents 'he went over ' them, picked out what he considered the more valuable articles and sold them separately. i To the Magistrate: He was quite certain, that the-contents did'not include ... -i'--such articles- as a pearl' necklace, : " Eastern gown, or a lady's silk velvet tea gown. The Magistrate: Am 1,.t0 understand that the articles you sold were quite different from those as described by Mrs. Collins? Witness: Yes. If such valuable articles had been included I would have specially advertised the fact. As it was the goods were sold at the usual Saturday morning auction. Mr. Acheson: What we say is that the boxes had been opened before going to the sale and the things stolen. To further questions witness said he saw nothing of an opossum rug, a set of Shapespeare, or an inlaid table. W. Grant, called by Mr. Moynagh, said his firm had received the luggage j as agents for the New Zealand Express Company. He had to pay freight and ' charges "totalling about £12. Both Dr. and Mrs. Collins frequently came to the store-room and took articles away out i of the boxes. The storage charges and freight amounted to about £43, which was still unpaid. Owing to the , store being congested during the war, and as lie could not get in touch with Mrs. Collins, he decided to clear the things out. He went through the goods and saw there was not much of value. He remembered a sealskin coat which -was . all moth-eaten. The goods he considered saleable he sent to auction and ; the remainder were sent to the tiphead. 'Jhe Magistrate: It is an extraordin- I try case. Witness further stated that he con- i sidered the clothing he found in the i boxes had been used to pack the goods i ■which Dr. Collins took away. • After counsel had addressed the Bench. Mecision was reserved. • It was mentioned during the hearing • that the original claim was for £400, but had been reduced to £200.