MOTOR DRIVER KILLED

Taranaki Daily News, 3 November 1926, Page 4

MOTOR DRIVER KILLED

WIFE AWARDED DAMAGES PROPRIETOR DID NOT INSURE. SEQUEL IN BANKRUPTCY COURT. SHARP EXAMINATION BY COUNSEL. A deficiency of £101)4 8s Id all, owing to unsecured creditors, was shown in the estate of James Fowler, taxidriver, of New Plymouth, according to the statement placed before a meeting of creditors at New Plymouth yesterday. The chief creditor was Mrs. D. Millin, to whom £778 3s was owing. This sum was the amount of a judgment awarded by the Arbitration Court against Fowler in regard to the death of Mrs. Millin’s husband, w’hile he was driving one of Fowler’s cars, and it was to this debt that Fowler, who was not safeguarded by an insurance policy, attributed his financial failure. Bankrupt was subjected to a searching cross-examination by counsel for Mrs. Millin on circumstances relative to the transfer of his ears to his wife prior to the bankruptcy, but no resolution was moved by the creditors. Before the meeting closed, the Official Assignee intimated that he would make a further examination of bankrupt’s bank passbook, and would investigate several other matters. The D.O.A. (Mr. J. S. S. Medley) presided at the meeting, others present being bankrupt and his co-unsel (Mr. G. M. Spence), Mrs. Millin, her counsel (Mr. G. J. Bayly), and her father (Mr. C. Dykes), and Messrs D. LeC. Morgan, Mclntyre (Vacuum Oil Company), and IF. Lysons (Messrs Lysons, Foord and Keilar). THE UNSECURED CREDITORS.

The unsecured creditors, according to bankrupt’s schedule, were as follow: P. E. Stainton and Co. (New Plymouth), £l5 12s lid; Lysons, Foord and Keilar (Hawera), £150; T. C. List (New Plymouth), £9 17s lOd; Moss and Spence (New Plymouth), £lB 15s 4d; Vacuum Oil Company, Ltd., £25; Mrs. M. E. Millin (New Plymouth), £77 8 3s; D. LeC. Morgan (New Plymouth), £7. After outlining in his written statement the circumstances of the purchase of three cars for use in the HaweraNew Plymouth service, which he began without capital in July, 1923, and which expanded steadily though at no time could he more than just pay his way, bankrupt stated that all the cars were obtained under the hire purchase system. He was able to draw only £5 a week for himself as wages. Continuing, he said, inter alia:—"On October 5, 1925, one of my drivers, D. Millin, was killed while driving one of my ears, and his widow brought an action against me for £7'so. I was not insured and defended the action, but judgment was given against me on May 10 last for the full amount of the claim and. costs, amounting in all to £776. Immediately this judgment was obtained, my credi t became impaired.” BIG DEFICIENCY IN JULY. “I was able to pay all my current expenses but, in view of the judgment obtained against me, the owners of the cars which I held on hire-purchase notified me that they intended to terminate the hire-purchase agreements, and entered into fresh agreements with tny wife, who is a woman of some means. After payment of my current trade accounts I found, when I had a balancesheet prepared on July 5 , last, that I was owing £lOO4, but had no assets. My wife, having taken over the cars, carried on the business in her own name. On July 26 I was served with a bankruptcy notice in respect of the judgment obtained by Mrs. Millin. During the six months prior to last July I lost £175 Us 3d on the business. “I heard nothing further from them until October 15 last, when I received a bankruptcy summons and a copy of the creditors’ petition to make me bankrupt. As I had no possibility of paying the judgment debt I could not defend the summons, and an order was made adjudging me bankrupt. “Had it not been for the judgment obtained against me by Mrs. Millin, I could, have carried on, as I was just able to pay my way, although I was a little behind at the time the judgment was obtained. When the cars were taken from me, my means of earning sufficient to pay my current expenses was taken away, but I do not see that I could ever have earned sufficient to have paid Mrs. Millin’s judgment. My present position is solely due to Millin’s unfortunate accident and the fact that I was not insured.” COUNSEL EXAMINES BANKRUPT. In reply to Mr. Bayly, bankrupt stated that in July, 1925, he had a Cadillac (on hire purchase to L. 11. Johnson), a Willys-Knight (on hire purchase to Ha trick’s), and a Hudson (hire purchase from Newton King, Ltd.). He could not keep up the payments and about the same time the firms took back the ears. They were now still running on the road in Mrs. Fowler’s name under hire purchase from the firms concerned. He thought that the cars had all been seized last July. When he purchased the Willys-Knight he gave 24 P.N.’s. He met 16 of these, which took him up to the end of April, 1926. On May 10, judgment was given against him for £776 with regard to the death of Multi!, and thereafter he made no more payments on account of his cars. On May 21 a P.N. on account of the WillysKnight was dishonoured and in the same month P.N.’s on both the Cadillac and Hudson ears were dishonoured. All of the takings from the business between May and the dates on which tire cars were seized went into bankrupt’s own bank account. Mr. Bayly pointed out that it seemed very strange that the receipts from the service should fall off suddenly to such an extent that after May bankrupt could I not pay anything on the cars. At counI sei’s request Mr. Morgan, who had latI terly taken over the keeping of banki rupt’s books, produced the books, and by examining them was able to state that the gross takings during March, April and May of this year were £357, £421 and £355 respectively. Mr. Bayly: I must again point out that the receipts in May were only £2 short of those in March, and yet he could not meet his P.N.’s in May. Mr. Morgan: Yes, he did. He paid £l5 on one of the Hudson ears and £66 on the Cadillac during May. FOUR CARS IN COMMISSION. Further inquiries elicited the Infor-

mation that at this time there were four cars running, including two Hudsons, one of which belonged to one of Fowler’s drivers named Yule. On this ear bankrupt was paying the instalments, and this oar. as well as the other three, was subsequently taken over by Mrs. Fowler. Further questioned, bankrupt stated that in response to a letter from L. H. Johnson he took the Cadillac car along the latter’s garage, where it was seized. Soon afterwards his wife took over the car. Mr. Bayly: And the same thing happened with the Willys-Knight? Bankrupt: I went to Wanganui to see Hatriek’s, and asked them to take back the car as I could not make any more payments on it. I did not tell them that my wife was prepared to take over the car. Mr. Bayly: And later Hatriek’s agents seized the ear. The same day your wife took over the ear. Don’t you think that is pretty quick service? Bankrupt: No. Mr. Bayly; I suggest that It is very strange that at practically the same time as Hatriek’s agents were seizing the ear from you, Hatriek’s representative negotiated with Mrs. Fowler for the taking over of the ear. And I suggest that it js also strange that when Hatriek’s seized your ear you were owing them £lB3 13s 4d; and the amount paid to Hatriek’s by your wife for the car was exactly the same, £lB3 13s 4d.—No, I do not think that is surprising. NO PRIOR ARRANGEMENT. Bankrupt, continuing his explanation, denied that there had been a prior arrangement, before the cars were seized, that his wife should take over the ears. Certainly he discussed the matter with his wife both before and after the seizures, but be did not know until after he had handed the cars in that Mrs. Fowler was going to take them over. He handed over the Cadillac to Johnson, and when he returned home his wife said she would take over the ear. Bankrupt replied: "Please yourself.” His wife said she .was not going to put her money in for somebody else’s benefit. If she did put the money in it would be for herself. Mrs. Fowler had private means of her own, and Hatrick’s knew this. Mr. Bayly: This judgment of £750; did you make any attempt to pay any of it?—How’ could I. Were you willing to pay the debt to Mrs. Millin if you had had the money? —Yes. I put it to you that on several occasions you made statements to various people that Mrs. Millin would never re- •] ceive a penny of her debt. —I had no money. How could I pay her? Examined by the D.0.A., bankrupt said he had no property, but had ten shares in the Taranaki Oilfields, Ltd.