SYMPATHY VERDICTS
PENDING LEGISLATION
REFERENCE BY CHIEF
JUSTICE
Brief reference to the possible effect of pending legislation upon claims for damages was made in *he Supreme Court today by the Chief Justice (Sir Michael Myers) when the question was raised of the effect of a pension upon the assessment of damages in a case in which a woman plaintiff had lost her husband in a motor accident.
"I will say this," said his Honour. "There may possibly be less verdicts influenced by sympathy and one cannot help feeling that there have been a good many of them. There has sometimes been a tendency towards a sympathy verdict in a case where the proof required was not always forthcoming."
In the course of his summing up in the same case, his Honour said that a tendency towards sympathy in certain cases was a natural one and it was one which Judges as well as juries must guard against. They all knew that certain legislation was pending which would make verdicts of sympathy less likely because provision might, in any case, be made for parties affected.
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19381019.2.23
Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 95, 19 October 1938, Page 7
Word Count
184SYMPATHY VERDICTS Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 95, 19 October 1938, Page 7
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Evening Post. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in