Supreme Court Seven Civil Jury Cases Settled Out Of Court

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31235, 6 December 1966, Page 9

Supreme Court Seven Civil Jury Cases Settled Out Of Court

Of 13 civil cases set down for trial by jury in the Supreme Court this week, not one came to hearing yesterday, when Court sittings for the week opened. Seven cases were settled out of Court, three adjourned for hearing at the first session of the Court next year, and three stood over until today. In the four cases called yesterday morning, Mr Justice Macarthur told assembled jurors that there were valid reasons why the cases could not proceed immediately. In one case, a witness had been delayed in Australia by the Qantas airline pilots’ strike, and would not be back in Christchurch until December 12. This case was adjourned until next year. In another accident-dam-ages case, the plaintiff was undergoing last-minute X-rays. He was a medical student in Dunedin, and because of exammations had been unable to consult with medical advisers in Christchurch earlier.

In a third case, a witness could not be located, and in a fourth an amendment to pleadings made further inquiries necessary. But jurors’ time had not entirely been wasted, his Honour said. They had been sworn in, and a jury could thus be empanelled as soon as a case was ready for trial. Because of the presence of jurors, some cases had been settled just before the Court had been due to sit, his Honour noted. The settlement out of Court of civil jury cases has been a

feature of this session of the Supreme Court. Of 13 cases listed in the week from November 28. in which a total of £66,000 damages was claimed, only one case came to trial. Ten others were settled, one case adjourned—a suit for alleged defamation against “Truth” newspaper—and one entered in the list for this week. In the 13 cases set down this week, a total of £117,000 was claimed in damages. In the seven cases settled, damages claimed totalled £46.000. The three cases which were yesterday adjourned to next year represented £67,000 damages claimed. One is a claim for £45,000 against Kinsey and Company, Ltd, shipping agents.