NO PRECEDENT.
CLAIM FOR DAMAGES.
MAN STRUCK BY BOTTLES. FRIENDLY SOCIETIES' ACT. (.By Telegraph.—Press Association.) CIIEISTUHURCH, this day. A question stated to be without precedent in the British Empire was argued in the Supreme Court before Mr. Justice Northcroft this morning. The point was whether a member of a society registered under the Friendly Societies Act, 1909, could bring an action for damages against the society. Plaintiff was Joseph Edward Fussell, a truck driver, of Ashburton, who claimed' damages amounting to £035 from the trustees of the Ashburton Club and -the - Mutual School -of Arts. ' The. statement of claim set out that plaintiff .was a member of the defendant 'Cjut), which was a society registered under.- the Friendly Societies' Act, 1909. ,Qn 1 November. 9, 1934, at, 11:30 a.m., he entered the club premises and went into the bottle store,, standing £t the counter beside an ice , chest which was eight or nine feet high. Qn the top of the chest were a number'of bottles of beer and other - liquids, Which fell' on plaintiff's iip'ad, seriously -injuring : him. Plaintiff contended- that 'the bottles fell as a result of the negligent .manner in which they were stacked and placed without, a barrier and in unreasonable numbers. He claimed £135 special damages, including medical expenses and compensation for employment lost while he was incapacitated and general damages amounting to £500. ' The defence was that plaintiff, being a member of the defendant club, was the owner, and consequently could not sue himself. A further point raised in the defence was that plaintiff in any case, could not resort to the Courts, but that under, the Friendly Societies Act and the, club's rules he must have his claim settled as provided by the club's rules, in this case the club's committee. - This morning's hearing was for the purpose of hearing, legal argument on points of law to determine whether the action could proceed. Judgment was reserved. > ■
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/AS19351113.2.60
Bibliographic details
Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 269, 13 November 1935, Page 8
Word Count
322NO PRECEDENT. Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 269, 13 November 1935, Page 8
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Auckland Star. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Auckland Libraries.
Log in