ADJUDGED BANKRUPT. ' THE CASE OF W. G. SOMERVILLE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVII, Issue 102, 1 May 1909, Page 6

ADJUDGED BANKRUPT. ' THE CASE OF W. G. SOMERVILLE.

CREDITOR'S PETITION GRANTED. W. G. Somerville, of Wellington, solicitor, was this morning adjudicated a bankrupt by' Mr. Justice Cooper in his reserved judgment on a creditor's petition. The petitioning creditor was the WellingtoD Timber Company, and the case, which was heard last Saturday, was fully reported at the time. Mr. Fair appeared for the petitioning creditor, Mr. Beere for the debtor. The petition alleged that the debtor •was indebted to the petitioning creditors in the sum of £253 17s Bd, being the amount of two judgments obtained by the company against the debtor in the Magistrate's Court, Wellington, in October last. Further, it alleged that execution was issued by warrant of distress against the debtor, and a return of " nulla bona " was made on the 2ffth Octooer last. The final allegation ' was that the company had no security for the debt. An affidavit of the manager of the company declared the full amount of the debt owed by Somerville to tha company was £572 9s. His Honour, in his judgment this morning, dealt at length with a number of technical points and formal objections raised by counsel for the debtor. He held that there had been an act of bankruptcy on the part . of the debtor. It rested on the debtor to satisfy the court that he was able to pay his debts, or that for other sufficient cause no order ought to be made. The debtor had not adduced any evidence tending to show that he was able to pay his debts. It was contended, however, that the evidence had established a sufficient i cause for the dismissal of the petition. Counsel for the debtor submitted that the petition had been filed and used as a means of extortion. His Honour held that the arrangement made by the debtor with the petitioning creditors was one which indicated no oppression by the creditors, but was one which was entirely in the interests of the debtor. If the debtor had carried it out, it would have resulted in the petitioning creditors writing off over £400 of the meney due to them. His Honour did not think that the delay which had occurred in the proceedings since their institution in November last was sufficient cause to justify him in dismissing the petition. If it had been for the purpose of obtaining some unfair advantage over the other creditors, held over and adjourned from time to time, that would be sufficient cause for refusing to make an order, if the interests of other creditors would be affected There was no indication of such purpose |n the present case. There was no evidence that by an adjudication the interests of other creditors of the debtor would suffer. In one sense it would be in the interest of the other creditors, for the bankruptcy of the debtor would relate back to the 28th October, 1908, and the £50 paid to the company by the debtor would, in his Honour's opinion, have to be refunded by them to the Official Assignee. His Honour then made the order asked for the petitioner, and adjudged the debtor bankrupt. Mr. Beeie asked that costs should be fixed for appeal. His Honour fixed such costs at £20. By aa order adjudicating a person bankrupt, that person's property became vested in the Official Assignee. Under the circumstances of the present case, pending the appeal, if the debtor was allowed to deal with his property, he would clearly have to give security. The bankruptcy was deemed to commence at the act of the bankruptcy mentioned in the petition. His Honour directed, by consent of the parties, that a motion should be filed, pending the hearing of the appeal, that the Official Assignee should act as receiver of the debtor's estate. The Official Assignee would also deal with the question of costs.