SALE OF STEAMER

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22878, 5 November 1937, Page 15

SALE OF STEAMER

PURCHASER'S CLAIM rjURY AWARDS £7OO REFUND VENDOR'S REPRESENTATIONS STATE OF SEAWORTHINESS Tho seaworthiness or otherwise of , jetton motor vessel Iranui when ° wa3 sold last November was tho 5 ntral' issue tried by Mr. Justice l-'air C 8 1 a jur.v i' l t' lo Supremo Court for [he second day yesterday. The purhas?r of the boat was William Carnrd Lranson, marine engineer (Mr. Allan j Hood}', instructed by Mr. K. C. Stewart), ami he succeeded in a claim f or the refund, of the purchase price against Joachim George Sorenscn, ntister mariner (Mr. ClouldingK 111 November last Sorenscn sold <; am pso» the Iranui for £750, of which £'*sso was paid >'i cash and the balanco secured bv a mortgage over the ship. Sampson alleged that Sorenscn had represented to him that the Iranui was sound and seaworthy, whereas it was jot so and Sojtenscn knew it was not f0 plaintiff said her value now was only £3O" for scrapping and ho therefore claimed '£72o from Sorenscn. Sampson used tho vessel in tho AVarkirorth trade until last May, when sbq met with a mishap off the Xoisies. Sorenscn denied making any untrue representations and said tho ship was sound and seaworthy at tho timo of . the sale. Tho jury inspected the vessel before the hearing was resumed at tho Court yesterday. Bought for £l5O Answering Mr. Moody, defendant ,gaid ho had paid £l5O for the Iranui 12 vears ago. Sho had then been about four years on, tho mud at Opua, ho thought. He' was not told she was rotten, hut the engine was useless at tho time. The timbers must certainly have been decayed earlier than last 'Jlav, though not so badly. If he had seen. the timbers at tho time he would not have sold her, because with his experience he could have run the boat. He would have been prepared to take her to sea as she was in May. Ho considered her staunch enough and sea- ' worthy. Witness declined to answer questions ss to tLe present value of the Iranui. He thought sho was capable of being repaired. Mr. Moody: How much would it cost to fix licr up to run her out with unsuspecting people on Sundays?—lt is very hard for me to answer that question. Would you care to have her fixed up? >-Yes, I would take her to sea. Were you -sad at selling tho ship? r-No. Mr. Moody: I did not think you Won Id be. Witness denied that he had had any "dosie" timber taken out of the vessel. He painted the inside of the ship once within the last five years. To Mr. . Gonhling witness said it would cost £ISOO to £1(300 to build the hull of the vessel to-day. Seaman's Evidence Gordon A. L. K. Herrick. seaman, said he always found the Iranui in good order, and he never had any trouble. After the boat changed hands, he had noticed different methods of loading cargo./- Manures and similar cargoes would be slid down a plank, and sometimes when the tide was low the cargo would have to go down at an ancle of 45 degrees, and would bump heavily on to. the timbering. Richard W. Huyton, a shipwright of 32 years' experience, said that three years ago he had found the hull of the Iranui in fair condition. He recently isavr the boat And noticed the diagonals were fractured, brought about by lying on her side on the beach or striking some object. He did not think the fracture could be brought about through travelling at^sea. Passenger's Experience A passenger' on board the Iranui when she met 'with a mishap off the Noisies on May 9, Julius Mendelssohn, said the report was like the crack of a gun. The sea was pretty rough and the ship opened f leak. The senior surveyor of ships, John William Townshend, said that the Iranui got a clean certificate in August. 1936. If there had been any doubt about her no certificate would have been issued. His Honor said that the allegation of dishonesty on the part of defendant ■was serious, and the law laid it down in such cases that the charge must be clearly proved. The first point to be determined was whether defendant taid the boat was "sound as a bell" or "sound as far as lie knew." The second point was whether in making one of those statements he knew it to be false. Evidence ol Unsoundness

There was strong evidence to show that at the time of the statement the Iranui was not sound and seaworthy, continued His' Honor. Also, it had to be shown that defendant intended the plaintiff to act upon defendant's statement that the boat was sound, and that the statement was relied upon by plaintiff in making the purchase, finally, if defendant honestly believed that what he' told plaintiff was true, then there was no fraud. After a retirement of 18 minutes the hr.v returned with a verdict for plaintiff of £7OO. the boat to bo returned to defendant. Judgment was entered accordingly with costs.