SUPREME COURT.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume XLII, Issue XLII, 8 June 1923, Page 7

SUPREME COURT.

MAGISTRATE'S DECISION UPHELD

I At New Plymouth yesterday the decision of Mi 1, justice Hosking in the appeal case of Henderson, and Martin was delivered. The ease was originally heard at Hawera, when Joe Martin, of Opunake, bus proprietor, sued E. Henderson, of Te Kniti, taxi driver, for damages for a collision at the junction of Skeet road and Manaia road at the Kapuni store, and Henderson counterclaimed. The Magistrate (Mr. J. S. "Barton, S.M.) held that both parties jvere to blame, and dismissed both claim and counter-claim. From this Henderson annealed to the Supreme Court. At the hearing Mr. D. Vernon iTe Kuiti) anoeared for the appellant, and Mr. P. O'])ea for the respondent, who also cross-appealed. The Judge said that the question of appeal was *'whether it was clearly made out that the Magistrate was wrong.' He could not, he said, avoid the conclusion that the collision might have been avoided by either party by the one turning into Skeet road' and the other into the Manaia road. In his opinion the mismanagement or negligence on the part of each vehicle was actively concurrent throughout, and it was impossible to •say that either party had a later opportunity than the other to avoid the raccident* Upon the evidence it was impossible to pick out any stage of the proceedings after each vehicle had, or ought to have, sighted the other, at which it could be affirmed that eithei could have avoided the collision by s proper step without at the same tim< recognising that the other could hay< likewise done so. It wns a case ir ■which it might be nllowed that an erroi of judgment on the part of each drive: led'him to continue on his course, with out deviating. The case was then re "duced to one in which each vehicl< headed on to cross each other's cours< -at right angles without any attempt t' deviate, or except in the case of Mar -tin's bus, to stop, and then only whei by reason of the speed of the bus th attempt was ineffectual. For this rea son he held that the Magistrate's de vision was right.