JUDGMENT SUMMONSES

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 62, 10 September 1925, Page 7

JUDGMENT SUMMONSES

MAGISTEATE'S REPLY TO A- '

COMPLAINT.

(IT miQEAPH—SPECIAL TO rHP TO?T.1» \ , AUCKLAND, This Day.; : . Objection was recently, made to the Auckland' Chamber of Commerce by a local. firni that' considerable delayv had been experienced in the^ hearing pf judgment summons plaints in the Magistrate s Court. The objectionOstatedth'at it appeared that '.where a debtor lived some miles out of the. principal towns it .was left to .the nearest bailiff, to ;ser,ve the summons within thirty^days,. but;before he'would do anything in :the matter, he required to be paid mileage according to tho ' schedule of the Court. The firm' stated it had repeatedly experienct|d difficulty in obtaining^'a hearing in tho Auck!and-Court tliroilgh.the'negligence on the part, of various .bailiffs in not serving summonses. The co-operation of the Chamber of Commerce was sought iii ' voicing a protest to. the Justice, Depart-, men^-both in reference to the delay iv ; the hearing'of peases and the question of the bailiff Being allowed to hold up the service of.a summons; ■'. ■= , : v ■■ . '

The complaint was. forwarded to Mr. E> ■ .0.- Gutten;". 5.M.,. .Senior Stipendiary Magistrate, in Auckland, and a lengthy, reply was received by the chamber at its monthly meeting: With reference to the complaint of refusal of bailiffs to act unless the law requiring.any fees to be pre-paid was complied with, Mr. Cutten s;aid there was no reason why any summons should, receive prior.' right .of hearing, and if short fees were accepted in one case they must be accepted in all. This.would.involve the risk of.loss of fees, ijnd'.the work of collecting arrears would devolve upon some officer. When it was considered that. over 2000 judgment summonses' were issued from the Auckland . Magistrate's 'Court .in a year, it was obvious that an officer not regarding it as his duty to.accept a summons for .service on which,, mileage was" not fully paid, could neither be regarded as fa'iUpg in his.duty, npr of giving a glaring example of'red tapis. • ' . Referring to the alleged" delay in tho .service, of a summons, Mr. Cutten said, delays often arose from 4-hc policy of using ' police for servingl them .where there'was not sufficient business to justify the local' Magistrate's*. Court office in employing 1 a bailiff. To avoid delay bailiffs ,would have; to be employed nt every Magistrate's Court, but the work would not warrant the expenditure. ', Mr. Cutten refuted thesuggestion that delays were frequent in the hearingv of judgment summonses'..-.-."--.." „ ■" .