CLAIM FOR £2999

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 293, 6 September 1932, Page 10

CLAIM FOR £2999

Public Trustee Sued RENTS OF AN ESTATE

Allegation by-

Widow

Alleging that the rents obtained by the Public Trustee, while administering the estate’of her husband, since deceased, were inadequate, Alice Merry, widow, Wellington, brought an action to recover £2999 from the Public Trustee, this sum representing the difference in the rents received and the amount which she claimed he could have obtained. The defence was a denial of the allegations. The case was opened in the Supreme Court yesterday before Mr. Justice MacGregor, who, after the opening statement by counsel for the plaintiff, suggested that the matter was one for arbitration. Counsel thereupon had a consultation, but later on it was decided that the case should stand over for the matter to receive further consideration. Plaintiff’s counsel said the case turned on whether, in regard to the three properties mentioned, the Public Trustee had obtained adequate rents after taking charge of the estate in 1913. The first property was a shop and dwelling rooms near the tramway terminus, Cleveland Street, Brooklyn; the second was at Kilbirnie Crescent; and the third a farm property at Haughton Bay. Following a reception order under which the husband, John Merry, was committed under the Mental Defectives Act, said counsel, the estate and management were taken over by the Public Trustee in 1913. It comprised some twenty houses, one or two shops, and a dairy farm at Haughton Bay. Mrs. Merry had some 40 properties of her own, and assisted also in the management of her husband’s estate. In regard ,to three of the latter it was claimed that the full rental value had not been obtained, and the best proof of that was that since she had taken them over higher rents had been obtained. She was a woman of some experience in that class of business'. The period covered by the administration was from 1914 to 1928, antewar and post-war periods, said counsel. If the index issued by the Statistical Department could be followed as a guide, rents in 1914 were low, but rose rapidly from 1915 onward. In 1916 rents were so high that the Rent Restriction Act was passed. Later rents became still higher, and a second Rent Restriction Act was passed in 1920. Having handed over the estate to the Public. Trustee, proceeded counsel, Mrs. Merry had nothing to do with the collection of rents until she took the estate over again in 1928. The husband diqd in 1924, and the estate went to the widow and her son in the proportions of two-thirds and one-third. The son died in 1925, In the statement of defence the Public Trustee said that for the last four years he was what was called an “involuntary” trustee, and that after the death of the husband he wanted to hand the Merry estate over. The answer was that Mrs. Merry was averse to taking over until she had obtained probate of her son’s will, and had been informed that all liabilities in respect to his estate had been discharged. Were the duties of an “involuntary” trustee of less degree than those of a trustee? His,Honour: I have not heard that term before. Counsel replied now that he understood that the term was one used in conversation by his learned friend, counsel for plaintiff, and he would therefore. withdraw it. After 1928 the estate was handed over to Mrs. Merry. She had gone into the question of the rents, and had come to the conclusion t that the amounts obtained in the cases in question were not adequate. Referring to the Brooklyn property, counsel said the Public Trustee reduced the rent at first and afterward raised it to £2. Mrs. Merry then let it for £3, and later for £3/10/-. The Kilbirnie property was valued in 1914 at £750, being worth £6O a year on the 8 per cent, basis, but the tenant only paid £37/14/-..Un-der the 1920 Act it was w'orth £52/10/-, plus rates, insurance, etc., so that the total loss was £6O. It was admitted that the second Act was more raluable to the landlord., In 1927 the defendant raised the rent at Kilbirnie to 27/6, at which it had remained. Nearby Farm Values. Speaking of the dairy farm counsel said it consisted of 42J acres, and was let for 28/6 a week, whereas plaintiff claimed that it could have been let for £4, showing a loss of £548 under the first Act. After 1921 it was increased to 34/-, and then periodically to £3, whereas it should have been £4 to January, 1923. and then £5. The loss on the second period was £263. The rent in regard, to dairy farms in Wellington was affected by the price of milk, which went up from 1/3 to 2/- a gallon, making dairy farms nearby more valuable. Plaintiff wa’s able to let it for £5, although it had since been reduced to £4/13/-. A Saving Couple. Counsel went on to say that plaintiff was a dressmaker, and her husband a bootmaker. Their savings were put ir to that class of investment, which required careful management. The estate of her husband was proved at £lO.OOO. The. Public Trustee had, while administering the estate, employed funds in hand to execute such repairs as he considered advisable. The accumulated income when he handed over his charge to Mrs. Merry exceeded £4OOO, being accumulated rents over the amount paid out for the. care of John Merry, no one being entitled to it then. Mrs. Merry had her own income, and the son also had some property. The Public Trustee was paid in that he charged for the collection of rents and fees for the administration of the estate, death duties, etc., which he was accustomed to charge. During that time he failed, in plaintiff's opinion adequately to repair the properties, which might have some bearing on the lower rent. It was then that his Honour remarked that it appeared to be a claim for breach of trust over a period of years, and suggested that it was a matter for arbitration by experienced men in such matters. It would then be more expeditiously dealt with, and he desired as fnr as possible to follow the usual practice. Statement for Defence. The statement for the defence denied unskilful and negligent management ami that inadequate rentals had been obtained: that after November 25. 1924. the Public Trustee continued in possession and management of the estate against his own wish, but the same was necessary because of the failure of the plaintiff to comply with certain necessary requirements to enable the estate to be transferred to her. Further, it was held that the defendant's management was prudent, skilful, and diligent, nnd that the rentals obtained from the properties were all that a nrudent. skilful and diligent trustee could reasonably have obtained. The case was then adjourned to allow counsel to give further consideration to the problem. The Chukchee, of Eastern Siberia, a nomadic tribe of reindeer breeders, take great pride in their animals, and will travel . many miles to race their reindeer.