£2000 CLAIM

New Zealand Herald, Volume 79, Issue 24214, 4 March 1942, Page 6

£2OOO CLAIM

PROCESSING OF PAPER AN ALLEGED CONTRACT The hearing of the action for £2OOO damages based on allegations of breach of a verbal contract was continued before Mr. Justice Fair and a jury yesterday. The Zealandia Finance and Trading Company, Limited, and Lawrence Pickles, director of the company, as plaintiffs (Mr. Beckerleg), alleged against the defendants, B. J. Ball (N.Z.), Limited, paper dealers, and Selwyn John Robinson, managingdirector (Mr. North and Mr. Bartleet), that they had broken a contract to pay £54 a'ton for newsprint that had been turned into grease-prooi paper. The plaintiffs claimed that they were to get newsprint from the defendants at £2B a ton, process it and sell it back at £54 a ton, but the de fendants denied that there had been any such contract. Continuing his evidence, _ Joseph Spencer Fawcett, research chemist, produced a number of samples of greaseproof paper which he had made from newsprint for submission to the defendant Robinson. In answer to Mr. North, witness said he had no definite arrangement, but if Pickles won the case he would be disappointed if Pickles did not do something for him. Witness had given him a very valuable formula. Under a proposed arrangement he expected to recover the cost of the materials used in processing the paper by getting Robinson to pay for their weight at the rate paid for the processed paper. He agreed that he had been well treated and honourably treated by Robinson. He still believed the enterprise was a good one and could be made commercially successful. Alfred James Parker, public analyst and chemical engineer, who had examined the plaintiffs' factory for making grease-proof paper, submitted reports on samples produced there. The further hearing was adjourned until this morning.