ACTION AGAINST RACING CLUB

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18510, 22 March 1922, Page 8

ACTION AGAINST RACING CLUB

LOSS OF A FUR COAT. (Pkb United Punas Association.) WKLLJNGTOX, March 21. Th« sum of £3O or £4O was involved in the legal action taken by Louisa Emily Symons against, the ’Wellington Racing Club in respect of the 10.-s of a fur coat from the, ladies’ cloak loom at the Trenlham racecourse, and in the appeal of the Racing Club against the decision of Mr E. Page. S.M. 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 Chib had failed to show that the magistrate's decision should be reversed. The facts were briefly as follows;—The coat had been handed by Miss Symons to one of the attendants in the cloakroom, and sh chad received in exchange a eheolc ticket. Throe coats (two belonging to Miss ijymons's friends) were hung on ope peg near the door, but w.leii the ladies retiirnect, Miss Symons’; coat was missing. The cloakroom is divided into two. Ihere is a staff of trustworthy attendants, and when the rush of visitors is on a policeman is stationed in the room to prevent overcrowding. “The appellants have, no doubt, in good faith ; endeavoured to avoid responsibility.” continued his Honor. “They make no charge, while for keeping men’s coats they make a charge, and assume the responsibility. They say that ladies’ coats are too valuable. There is nothing special about the ticket. It is a mere number in dedicate, one half being given to the depositor, and the other pinned to the coat. Another precaution is to post up m the room three printed notices—‘Cloak Room : While every care will be taken of articles left in this room, the club accepts no responsibility for the same.’ The respondent, (Miss Symons) says that she did not see this notice, and that nothin? was said to her about the responsibility. I 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, a,s it assures the depositor that every care .will be taken of articles so left. It seems to me, therefore, that a notice worded this way does not necessarily bring to the mind of the depositor ain essentially different measure of responsibility from that which she would expect Assuming this to be a question of gratuitous bailee, the position of the respondent might even be better under the notice than apart from it. All I need say at present us to the dispute between the appellants and the respondent is that the former has not. taken a complete measure to discard responsibility and this inference is strengthened by the circumstance that it would have been very easy to do so by means of an unequivocal disclaimer on the ticket in such a form and position as to compel the depositor to notice it.” His Honor ruled that the question as tc whether Miss Symons had entered the club’s grounds with a complimentary lady’s ticket or not did not alter the principles he bad referred to. The institution of the cloakroom, he said, was but one more attraction to patrons of the club’s meetings. It was true, us far us the court, knew, that there was no actual consideration moving front Miss Symons to the chib, but it must lx? considered that there was a consideration in a more general sense. The terms of the notice showed that the appellants were inviting all ladies, who were so inclined, to come to the races and leave their coats in safely. “The coat was a very valuable one,” concluded his Honor, “and the attendants must have seen that. They are unable to say when it. disappeared, or give any account of what happened. They chose li;e place where it was to be hung. I cannot say that it is made out that the owner would have been reasonably satisfied with the amount of care bestowed on it after deposit. In all the circumstances I hold that grounds for impeaching this judgment have not bben shown.”