ACCIDENT APPEAL

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 1, 1 July 1938, Page 15

ACCIDENT APPEAL

PRAISE FOR COUNSEL

An appeal against a judgment of the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) in dismissing a motion for a new trial in a motor collision case was dismissed yesterday by the Court of Appeal (Mr. Justice Blair, Mr, Justice Kennedy, Mr. Justice Johnston, and Mr. Justice Fair).

In July, 1937, Mrs. B. Ashton, of Rotorua, the appellant in the present case, was injured in a collision at Rotorua between the car in which she was a passenger and a car driven by the respondent, E. A, Whittaker, a commercial traveller, of Auckland. Mrs. Ashton brought proceedings in the Hamilton Supreme Court against both Whittaker and Miss K. Gordon, of Wanganui, the driver of the car in which she was a passenger, alleging both guilty of negligence contributing to the accident. She claimed damages amounting to £2160. The jury found that the accident was due entirely to the negligence of Miss Gordon and awarded £638 damages against her, absolving Whittaker.

Counsel for Mrs. Ashton moved for a new trial, contending that the jury had acted unreasonably and against the weight of evidence. The Chief Justice dismissed the motion, holding that the verdict was not so unreasonable that twelve men could not properly have found it. It was against the dismissal of the motion, that Mrs. Ashton appealed.

The judgment of the Court, delivered by Mr. Justice Fair, was that their Honours could find no sufficient ground for saying that the facts were such as made it inevitable for them to find Whittaker guilty of negligence. The Court said each counsel said quite fully and adequately all that reasonably could be said in support of their respective contentions, and the arguments were presented with a clearness and conciseness that, were refreshing and which, the members of the Court thought, merited recognition.

Mr. M. H. Hampson, of Rotorua, appeared for the appellant, and Mr, King, of Hamilton, for the respondent.