CLAIM AGAINST CAR DEALER

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26261, 4 November 1950, Page 2

CLAIM AGAINST CAR DEALER

PLAINTIFF NON-SUITED

In a judgment given in the Mart, trate’s Court yesterday bv Mr Rex r Abernethy, S.M.. Allen Fredrolet Boyce, a builder (Mr P. H t. AlneJ,) was non-suited in his claim Clarence Leslie Rhodes, trading C. L. Rhodes Motors, motor-car dealer (Mr B. A. Barrer), for £5O general damages and £ 127 17s 3d special dam age,. Costs were given against th, plaintiff. The plaintiff claimed that, on or about September 8. 194,1. the defend, ant offered him a motor-car for £«k and represented that it was m first claw order and in reliable condition whereas, the plaintiff alleged, there representations were false. "The whole case, in my view, short, ens down to this point: there w a , nn representation made which, owing to the contract, entitles the plaintiff tn come forward and say that there h„ been a fraudulent statement made bv the defendant." said the Magistrate after reviewing the evidence.

“I am not satisfied that it is proved that the defendant knew that nnv state, ment he made—if he made it—in respect to the car being in first-cie,, condition, was false, and further, I am not satisfied that the evidence disclo,e, that the car actually was in ether than the certified condition which appears from the Transport Department arid City Council warrants of fitness given on August 31. 1948. As one of'toe witnesses said, ‘it would be a miracle if those two department, had pas«ed this car it it had been in the state of misalignment' which it now alleged. The result then is thlr I find there are no false misrepreC sentations made by the defendant in regard to this matter "The case ha, unsat i-factory f„. tures—a case of this nature always hu —but it w„ not proved to me that the car when handed back by Scott', garage to the defendant was in other than the reasonable condition that on, would expect a second-hand car of ,ta age to be in. That it fell into dire repair quickly afterwards may be true and it might be that trouble came to the car because of its fairly rough handling by the plaintiff almost Un. mediately from the day he took da. livery of ft. That is possible, and n long as that is possible it adds to my doubt of the strength of the sHeare tions of fraud made by the plaintiff against the defendant “Under the circumstances the plain* tiff will be non-suited, with coati against him." said the Magistrate.