THE COURTS.

Press, Volume LV, Issue 16584, 25 July 1919, Page 4

THE COURTS.

SUPREME COCKT. CIVIL SITTINGS. vße fore his Honour Mr Justica Herdman.) I'ELTON v. AD DINGTON IltON KOLLINGMILES, LTD. The hearing of the action in which M-iudo Eliza Felton, of Addington, widow. claimed from tho Aldington Iron Rolling Mills, Ltd., i'oOO dfmages, and os'-ct-d for an injunction in respect'of an alleged nuisance, ca,u=*>d by th»> working of the deioucUtnt mill, was Tc?uru<>a yoetcrduy. Mr W. J. IJtiMor, "r.th him Mx H. S. J. Goodman, appeared for plaintiff, and Mr K. Wilding, K.C., with him. Mr T. AT. Kowe. for tiio dofenaaut <«rnp3ny. Couti'.iuinr his c-"idcncc. Charies Iviwurd Joaps. land ag»iif, said lio valued plaintiff 3 property in March. 19iS, af- from XC3O to i"TC'O. "Ihe loci'ity of the iron :n'ili was not a residential one. t-ut rath'r jr.dustriaJ. In iiii opinion tho dioixtct from tho defendant company's work? rijht- up to Sockhur.i -vrould. :n a few yoare. ho a hi'-e of industric? due to j.hu cho;p electrical powf-r secured by the city, tho fact that the West Coast railway would mako its wnninus at o.nd tb it- there was no other outlet for industrial purposes from Ihe e-itv. 111 the north-east portion of the city tho acii was reatv. and therefore unsuitable for hoavy foundations. Extension was impossible i;p Papanui road owinir to tho high prkes industrial concerns would have to pay to buy up the roaidential properties. Extension would not go towards Sydenham because Sydenham wa« recognised as'the residential quarter of tho working c-lasscvs. To his Honour: Taking into account- al! the circumstances, witness that the value of plaintiS's property to-day wcu'.d be abcrat £750., ■ Arthur Dudlry Do!>son, city surveyor, said he had been instructed by ths defendant companv'A solicitors to inspect the works in conjunction with Dr. Chesaon and Mr Andrew Anderson, and stato whether thov were a romance or rot. Dr. CliesJeon and .he visit-ed the works on May 30th last, an-J tnev tbat j .lk> hammer and roll? should be worked whnn they visited plaintiff's house M 1 i 0 a.m. When he stood in the back rooms of tbo house with the door shut he could jv-st hear the hammer when h* listened for it, 1-ut wh&n ar.y conversation was goinff on he could not hear i ; ;<t -nil- Ho rould i-'ete.'i no vibration in 3ome cups and Bauoers ptar.diiiff on a table in tho bank room. Mrs J-'eltou snid tl'.e works wero only using- the 1 hammer a-Ufl that the reason why thev couid not "hear i< However, thcr? w:>s ppfv o-;e "rjn:'n"r n> the work?. He rould hear the exhaust itcani, but ii did not; appear to him :'!.v tT>ro :>'r"ovin<r tna'i the noiso of th" fh!i'itin<; at Addinston y»rd«, and ho cou'd '.i-ar "o :-oi=o of <iie rollers. He ,-ould th;• ?ound of the »xhaust of the ?'rfi;n '-*3ijiiner. '>'it i' wouM i'ot. wa? of oninicii. co'-.-sirkrincf the lorn iity. 't* a t.Hiiiiiire. He had heard </>ea.t<.,- noisw jn th" loc.-s'.ilv oi Vis own residence. Mrs Villon's cose wps. ill hi? opinion, o-ie of t.iose where or.s tiioufrht ovor a thine; till it becarao .; trreat miisanc^. IJis ifonouT r)oint«<l out fo witness tnat it was not onlv Mrs Felt-on who recarde-i the works r.s a'nuisanw-, there wero several oilier people. In reply to hi.'- Honour, wi'uie-s said he felt perfrctlv satisfiefl that the hammer was_doin s itr, m-nnrii work ■■• hen if- at tbe T'nder further yzumiuation. witness s;iid lift rtid not how tho noiiie and pruokc could bo minimised any further. had aiwavs beon an industrial locality, and there was no doubt tho industries wouid continue to tro west along- the railway line-. No one would choose the south Bldo of the railway line, between Addirfgtou and Christcliorcb, as a desirabl« -place for buildinjr a house, 00 account oi the noise of tho trains and smoke from them. He knew of no locality nioie suitable for the erection of industrial works. Three 'ams working near hi? own houie in Meriva'.e had' disturbed him at first, but, now he never noticed then). Tbo sound oi tbo hammer wa.-> r.o worso than the sound of 0110 of the rams. Herbert Chesaon, district health ofheer, said ho paid two separata visits to the Koller Mills. Upon tho first visit 011 May 37th, m conjunction with Mr Dobson and others, between 2.30 and 3.30 p.m., tho steam hammer and rollers were put into operation. Although the sound "of heavy machinery was pronounced, it was not such that one could not hold a conversation comfortably even iu close proximity to the hammer and machinery. Tha party proceeded to Harman street and inspected the bucks of the houses which abutted on the works. Standing at -the back door of Mrs Felton's house, although they could, hear the sound of the hammer and of the machinery and escaping stoam,' it was not intense. Owing io th-o liammeT having stopped upon this occasion,- witness, again visited Mrs Felton's place at about 11 a.m. on. M:iy 30th, arranging beforehand for the machinery to be put into motion. In the front rooms of the house the noise of .the hammer and machinery was " baTdly noticeable. , In the back rooms the dull thud or the hammer and a faint ramble of the mills could be heard.. There was nothing to take exception to in their opinion. He noticed- no vibration at all ia the houiso. He had no reason to believe that there was any change -in t-he working: of tho machinery. A. person of normal constitution and • nerves would sustain no injury through, living, ill tho iviciwty of the mills. Andrew Anderson-, a director of Andersons, Ltd., and a civil engineer by profession, eaid he had had long experience in tho practical work of engineering. His firm used a eteam hammer with the working of.which he wa« well acquainted. In conjunction with Mr Dobson and Dr. Chesson, he visited the defendant company's works on May 27th. There was no undue noise or smoke there that lie could sec. It wac not possible for tho nulls to be working other than in the normal way. Ho and others went into a house in ParK road contiguous to the works. They could hear tho hammer faintly when the door was shut, but there was very little vibration. Some cups on a,table did not. vibrate at all when everybody stood still, but »« soon as they began to walk about the floor, tho cups vibrated at onoe. Tho noiso of the machinery was not ' very noticeable, x bey could hear it and that was all. There was nothing that an ordinary working ma.n or his wife could take exception to. There could bo no doubt that Addingtoa was an industrial district. Tho noise and smoke from tho railway would annoy, hiru far more than tho noise and- sntoke from the mill. . Henry Arthur Love, railway employee, said be lived in a house at the corner of Haz'*!dean and Park roads. The noise from the mills did not interfere with him a-t all, tlie hammer could just beard, -and thcre> wera no other noiEes. He suffered no annoyance from the smoke and felt only a sli?ht vibration from the working of the hammer, not enough to be at" all troublesome. Ho had once been an employee of the mills. F/lien K Lov-e, wifo of the pTevious witncs- ; .Tas, Hill, 30 Harman at-reot, John Smith, lia Harman street, Alesander McKinnon, Park road, Mary .Wat.soh. 39 Harman street, and Jane Mason (occuoier of house nest door to Mrs Felton) stated tint though they lived in the neighbourhood the works caused them no annoyance. Evidence- was also jivtn by Howard V>. ITesiop, land agent, George Thomas Boot.i. a •lirector of he defendaut company, JOIIII Smith Pate, forerunn «t the defendant com--s>anv's works, Hubert- Lloyd Turner. secretary of the company, and Albert James etniTn, manager of the work"!. This e'exd defendant's case. His Honour, in giving judmifnt. said it hod not been proved that- plaintiff's property had suffered from physical deterioration. Hi was satisfied by the evidcr.cc jjenexally that t.his locality could not bo called a- wsidei'.tial one. Tb l was a Tesvieutia] one in tbo sense of- being one whore people -Lived in order to bo nea.r their work. He thought h<" \rj,3 justified in coming to the conclus*oii that t-iiis was an industrial part of the city. The onus of proof lay on the plaintifT: a merely imaginary grievance v.-asnot sufincient. He muet pav respect to tho cvider.cc give.n on behoJf of the defendant conrpanv. He would therefore give judgment for defendant company, with costs.