WAVERLEY S.M. COURT.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 17 June 1924, Page 10

WAVERLEY S.M. COURT.

ORDINARY SITTING. The monthly sitting of the Waverlev S.M. Court was held on Wednesday, before J. S. Barton, S.M. CIVIL CASES. T. Geary v. F. W. Finer, claim for £8 5s 7d. Mr. F. C. Spratt appeared for the plaintiff, and Mr. G. H Graham for the defendant. Mr. Spratt said the claim was one for breach of warranty with regard to the sale of a cow which was sold by the defendant at the Kakaramea saleyards and purchased by plaintiff. The caw was warranted sound, but no guarantee was given in writing. The cow was bolj under the usual conditions of sale, which read that no guarantee was implied unless given in writing. Immediately after the sale plaintiff went to the auctioneer’s clerk and asked if the particulars of sale were in the auctioneers’ book, and found that the letters 'Sd. M appeared after the description of the cow. The letters denoted that the cow was sound. Subsequently plaintiff found that- the cow was not sound, and he therefore claimed £7 Os 7d, the amount of deficiency on the re-sale of the cow 10s for driving fee and 15s for grazing over the period between the time the cow was dried off and the time it was sold.

dement Trotter, auctioneer for the Farmers’ Co-op. Organisation Society, said that when a cow was guaranteed sound when in calf, the custom was that it was implied that the cow would come in sound in all four quarters. If the guarantee was worded: “I guarantee the cow sound now. but I cannot say what she will be like when she comes in,” such wording would not be accepted as a guarantee. Ivan Brunton, farm labourer, employed by plaintiff, said he saw the cow purchased by plaintiff from Finer. She calved a fortnight after being purchased. He brought her in to milk, and found that one teat was hard and calloused. There was no traee of milk, and only a discharge of cheese-like matter from it. He milked the cow for about six weeks, during which time he only got about a spoonful of milk from the diseased quarter. Thomas Geary said he bought the cow in question at the Kakaramea sale on September 24th last. Mr. Finer guaranteed the cow sound, and said she was his house : cow and a tip-tOp milker. Before he drove the cow away he asked the auctioneer’s clerk if it was entered in the book that the cow was guaranteed sound, and he replied that it was, and that he could take delivery. Witness was there when the sale started. No conditions were read out. The auctioneer simply said: “Well, gentlemen, you know wliat the conditions are; we’ll proceed with the sale.” He did not know if the conditions were posted up at the Kakaramea. yards. He wrote telling Finer that the cow was unsound. Finer replied that he would come and see the cow. However, he did not turn up.

In reply to Mr. Graham, witness said he did not handle the cow at the sale. He viewed her from the rails, as is the custom at sales. In his opinion the reason for the cow’s condition was that it had not been properly dried off. William Brunton, sharemilker, of Manutabi, gave evidence corroborating that of the urevious witnesses.

Adolph Bremer, farmer, also testified to the accepted meaning of the word “Sound” as used in connection with a guarantee. Mr. Graham contended that there had been no guarantee given in writing. If, however, his client bad implied a guarantee he had acted in good faith, the cow being quite sound at the time of the sale.

Robert McCullock Boyne, agent for the N.Z. Loan and Mercantile Co., testified to the conditions of sale under which stock are sobl. A copy of the conditions, he stated, is posted up at the company’s sale yards Frederick William Finer said as far as he knew the cow was perfectly sound at the time. He was satisfied that she had been properly dried off. He admitted writing Geary, telling him he would come and see the coiv 3 but he was prevented from going at the time. He admitted stating that the cow was sound at the time of the sale, but he did not guarantee how long it would remain so. T. J, Davis, farmer. Waverley, gave evidence as to the possible causes of the cow’s condition as testified by the previous witnesses. William Burton, recalled, said that it was quite possible that the cow was milked-out on the morning of the sale, but if that was so it was his opinion that she had been dried off too late. His Worship reserved judgment. Judgment with costs by'default was given in the following cases: —H. Middleton v. J. G. Rutherford, claim for £2l 12s. —Press.