COURT OF APPEAL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22211, 14 March 1934, Page 2

COURT OF APPEAL

ACTION FOR SLANDER QUESTION OF DAMAGES. (Pee United Pbess Association.) WELLINGTON, March 13. The hearing of the case, Boddie v. Sievwright, was resumed in the Court of Appeal this morning. Mr O’Leary submitted that Boddie should not be allowed to bring before the court evidence of events which had taken place since the Supreme Court trial. He contended that the new evidence was only a .veiled attack upon the truthfulness of the respondent’s witnesses. After hearing Mr C. H. Weston, K.C., counsel for the appellant, in his reply, the court expressed thh unanimous opinion that the new evidence should not bo admitted.

Mr Weston then continued with the main grounds of the appeal, the first of which was that the trial judge had been in error when he had held that the publication of two of the libels had not been proved. Counsel submitted that the damages awarded (amounting to only three farthings) has been assessed upon an erroneous principle of law. The trial judge had wrongly relied upon specific acts of misconduct and had not considered the evidence of the general reputation of the appellant, Boddie. Mr C. Evans-Scott, junior counsel for the appellant, submitted that the trial judge should have taken into account the manner in which the injury had been aggravated by the conduct of the respondent, Sievwright. < Not only were the libels of a very serious nature, but they had been published in an irresponsible and malicious manner. He submitted that there was absolutely no evidence to support the suggestion of blackmail mentioned in the judgment of Mr Justice Ostler. The court was adjourned. ,