A FUR COST.

Hokitika Guardian, 25 March 1922, Page 1

A FUR COST.

RACEGOER’S LOSS AT TRENTHAM.

CLUB HELD LIABLE. WELLINGTON, March 21. The sum of £3O or £4O involved in a legal action taken by Louisa Emily Symons } against the Wellington Racing Club, in respect of the loss’of a fur coat from the ladies’ cloak room at Trentham, and in the appeal of the racing club against th*> decision of Mr E. P. Page, S.M., was of first importance to the plaintiff, Miss Symons, but to the Racing Club, the principle in the case, the interpretation of the words “all care, but no responsibility,” was the issue at stake. Mr Justice Chapman delivered his reserved judgment on the point at the Supreme Court this morning, holding that the Racing Club had failed to show that the Magistrate’s decision should be reversed. Thle facts were briefly as follows: The coat had been handed by Miss Symons, to one of the attendants in the cloakroom, and .she had rereived in exchange a check ticket. Three coats, two belonging to Miss Symons’s friends,' Were hung on one peg near the door, but when the ladies returned, Miss Symons’s coat was missing. The cloakroom is divided into two. There is a staff of trustworthy attendants, and when a rush of visitors is on. a policeman is stationed in the room to prevent over-

crowding. “ The appellants have no doubt in good faith endeavoured to avoid responsibility,” continued his Honour. ‘‘They make no charge, while or keeping men’s coats they make a ebargie. and assume responsiblity. They say that ladies’ coats are too valuable. There is nothing special about the ticket. It is a mere number in duplicate. one half being given to the depositor, and the other pinned to the coat. Another precaution is to put up in the room three printed notices. “Cloak room. While every care will the club accepts no responsibility for same.” The respondent (Miss Symons) says that she never saw this notice, and that nothing was said to her about responsibility. T must say it appears to me that this notice, if seen by the respondent, would not necessarily affect her as a notice discarding all responsibility for the loss of articles left in the cloakroom, as it assures the depositor that every care will he taken of articles so left. Tt seems to me, therefore, that a notice so worded in this rvav does not necessarily bring to the mind <■' depositor any essentially different measure of responsibility from that which she would expect apart from it. Assuming this to he a question of a gratituitous bailee, the position of the respondent might even he better under the notice than apart from it. All T need say at present as between the appellant and respondent, is that the former has not taken complete meesures to discard responsibility, and this inference, is strengthened by the ciicumstance that it would have been \et> easy to do so by moans of an unequivocal disclaimer on, the ticket in such a form., and position as to compel tho depositor to notice it.” His Honour ruled that the question whether. . Miss Symons had entered the club’s grounds with a complimentary lady’s i ticket or not did not alter the principle he had referred to. The institution of a cloakroom, he said, was hut one more attraction to patrons of the club’s meetings. Tt was true, as far as the Court knew, that there was no actual consideration . moving from Miss Svmons to the Club, hut it must be considered that there was a consideration in the more general sense of the term. The notice showed that the appellants were inviting all ladies, who wleve so inclined, to come to the , races and leave their coats in safety. „ “ The coat was . a very valuable one, concluded his Honour. “ The attendant must haw seen that. They are unable to s*y wßen it disappeared, or give any account of what happened. They chose the,place whore it was to be liung. I cannot, say that it is made out that, the owner . would have been ; treasonably, satisfied with the amount of ■care bestowed on it after its deposit. In all the circumstances, I hold, that grounds for impeaching this judgment have not Ireen shown.”