Untitled

Grey River Argus, Volume XXXIX, Issue 6987, 12 February 1891, Page 2

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF WESTLAND BOLDEST; AT GREYMOUTH, BEING A LOCAL COURT OF BANKRUPTCY. ♦ (Before W. A. Barton, Clerk of Court, in the absence of the Judge.) In the matter of the bankruptcy of John M'Neim,. f |Mr Hannan, counsel for the Official Assignee in Bankruptcy, of the property of the said John M'Neill, applied for an order upon George Murdo Frazer, of Greymouth, contractor, to forthwith, pay to the said Official Assignee, the sum of Ll4O 7s alleged to be due by him to the said estate, or so much thereof as the court shall consider the said assignee entitled to. Mr Hannan for the Official Assignee, and Mr Kitchingham for defendant. The particulars; of the case are as follow : — The bankrupt and defendant were partners in a contract, for certain work at Picton, under the Borough Council, the profits therefrom the assignee claims to have been L2BO 14s, half of which would belong to the estate of the said John M'Neill, he being an undischarged bankrupt. A considerable amount of evidence was taken on either side, and the Court delivered the following judgment yesterday morning : — " I found -some difficulty in arriving at a judgment in this case owing to the conflicting nature of the evidence. With regard to the point raised by counsel for dependent, that the Assignee should h ave first obtained an order under the provision of section 10 of the The Bankruptcy Act Amendment Act, 1884, before commencing these proceedings. I am of opinion that such an order was unnecessary. After considering carefully the evidence and all surrounding circumstances, I find that the profits upon the contract amounted to LlO2 18s Bd. The defendant in his evidence stated that he had (through his son) paid the bankrupt L4O. Fven allowing that evidence to be true, lam of opinion that that is not a sufficient answer to any portion of the present claim, he having admittedly made the payment after he had received notice from the Assignee in bankruptcy, not to pay any more money to bankrupt. I order the said George Murdo Fraser to pay to the Official Assignee in Bankruptcy of the estate of John M'Neill, a bankrupt, the sum of L5l 9s 4d, and the costs of these proceedings. — Court costs, LI Is ; counsel's fee, L 5 5s ; witnesses, L 2 10s. Total costs, LI 16s.