INFORMATIONS DISMISSED.
LANDLORD AND SUB-TENANT. Unsuccessful charges of trespass and wilful damage were brought by John Henry Hannan against Henry Willis (Mr. Sullivan), before Mr. W. iR. McKean, S.M., in the Police Court yesterday. Mr. Hannan, who conducted his own case, said he was the owner of a six-roomed house in Montague Street, Newton, which had been occupied by tenants since June, 1919. The- agreement precluded the house being sub-let, but this had been, done in the case of Willis. Having beard that the house had been sub-let, he 'had visited it, with the intention of carrying out an inspection, (but had been refused admittance, and had then applied for the police to accompany him. He found that his original tenants had just left, leaving Willis in possession. He alleged that the property was in a disreputable state, and the house in a very dirty condition.' He' had given defendant notice to quit, but the latter had not yet left the premises. .The' cross-examination of plaintiff was punctuated with some wordy arguments, of a more or less personal nature, between him and counsel.
• William McNally, described as Hannan's manager, gave evidence that defendant's wife had told him her husband was a returned soldier, and could not be put out until another house was found. He was also told the damage had been done by the original tenants. . As regards the accusations of wilful damage, the magistrate said there.was no proof that defendant had done the damage, and it had probably been done before the original tenants had left. The informations on this point were dismissed. Regarding the charge of trespass, while a remedy might have been obtainedTiad a civil action been taken against the tenant, the fact that the charge was brought under the Criminal Offences Act precluded this possibility. Informant had no grounds for taking such proceedings as these and the case would be dismissed costs being allowed at £3 3s. -
(Published by Arrangement.)
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Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17651, 11 December 1920, Page 10
Word Count
325INFORMATIONS DISMISSED. New Zealand Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 17651, 11 December 1920, Page 10
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