PRIEST SUED FOR £l5

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19803, 3 December 1938, Page 6

PRIEST SUED FOR £ls

OPTIONS ON PROPERTIES

LAND AGENT LOSES CASE

A claim for £ls was brought against Monsignor Thomas Lane, of the Catholic Presbytery, Ellerslie (Mr C. E. Clarke), by Marin Segedin, land agent (Mr. Wheaton), before Mr. W. R. McKean, S.M., in the Auckland Magistrate’s Court on Thursday.

Plaintiff claimed that he was instructed by defendant to obtain options on certain properties at Penrose and that he did so. Defendant purchased another property instead. Plaintiff valued the work he had done for defendant, involving numerous visits to Penrose, at £ls. Defendant in evidence said he did not ask plaintiff to inquire about the properties. Plaintiff volunteered to do it and was told lie might obtain a price. Defendant told plaintiff that if lie thought the price reasonable he would like to obtain an option in order to submit the matter to the Ellerslie parish. In any matter of church property, he was merely acting as agent for the Catholic Bishop of Auckland. The prices submitted by plaintiff were too high. In finding for the defendant, with costs, the magistrate said it was most unlikely that options would be wanted before the prices or other particulars were known.