A PEA RIFLE ACCIDENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13226, 11 July 1906, Page 6

A PEA RIFLE ACCIDENT.

AUCKLAND. CASE BEFORE THE

APPEAL COURT.

[IST T£LEGS U'H.PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

Wellington, Tuesday. Is the Appeal, Court;, the case:of Kenealy ■v. Kawana Karaka, was beard. This is an appeal from the decision of Mr Justice Edwards, delivered in Auckland on March 9 last. The case arose out- m* an accident occasioned through the careless use of a uea-rifle, owing to which Kawana Karaka, a. Maori, was on July 18, 1903, shot by the nine-year-old son of Timothy Kenealy, at Te Puke. The ballet.'.'.entered the lungs of Kawana Karaka, and caused, him such serious injury that his constitution became permanently impaired, and he became unable .to work. He went through several operations, parts of his ribs having to be cut away, so that, to use the words of one of the doctors, who gave evidence, there was a window formed in his side, and these operations .sapped his strength, and left him an invalid for life. In December last Kawana Karaka. commenced an action ..against Timothy Kenealy, the father of the boy who had fired the shot which injured him, for £500 damages for the .injury caused by the action of Kenealy in allowing his son to use the rifle indiscriminately. No negligence was charged in the statement of claim,- but the judge allowed it to be amended to a charge of negligence. The jury found that the rifle eamfe 'into the possession of his boy on the day of the accident, through Kenealy's negligence, and awarded to Karaka £500 damages. Counsel for Kenealy then moved for a nonsuit on the ground that there was no evidence of negligence to go to the jury. The evidence showed that there had been previous complaints by neighbours about the use of the rifle, by Kenealy's son, and that on account of these complaints he had locked the rifle in the spiritroom of his hotel, he being a publican at Te Puke. One of his sons, in his absence, stole the key of the spiritroom, and. surreptitiously took the rifle on the day of the accident. Another boy named Garter purchased cartridges, and it was with one of these cartridges that Karaka was shot. The judge refused to nonsuit the plaintiff, and gave judgment on the verdict of the jury for £500. This was an appeal against his decision. Mr. Skerrett and Mr Reid appeared for the appellant Kenealy, and Mr. Earl for the respondent. Mr. Skerrett opened the case for the appellant with a statement of the facts as given above, and commenting on the evidence, contended that it showed no negligence on the part Of the appellant, and that the decision of the judge in the Court below went far beyond any of the authorities on negligence. The case is proceeding.