PRIVILEGE OF SOLICITORS

Taranaki Daily News, 29 September 1930, Page 7

PRIVILEGE OF SOLICITORS

■' PROTECTION OF CLIENTS. SUPREME COURT INCIDENT. The question of whether or not circumstances can arise under which a solicitor should be put in the witnessb x to give evidence as to what had transpired between himself and a client during the preparation of a case was raised in the Supreme Court at Christchurch the other day during the hearing of a case in which misrepresentation was alleged over the sale of the Shades Hotel, Hereford Street, Christchurch. It was stated, during the course sot the evidence in chief, that a copy of certain statements that had been written on an envelope and signed by the plaintiff to a solicitor who had been acting for him at that time, and that this copy had been lost by the solicitor. Counsel for the plaintiff admitted that the solicitor in question denied having ever received the copy. , Mr. A. T. Donnelly, who appeared for tlie defendant, asked Mr. Justice Adams for a ruling as to whether or not, in view of the statement made that the solicitor had lost the document, the solicitor might be called by him or His Honour, in order to have an opportunity of clearing the matter up. , , , His Honour: I should be reluctant In any way to relax the rule which protects absolutely the privilege, not onlv of the solicitor, but the client. .[ do not know of any authority for. do im>- so. In any event, unless you can "show me some authority for what is an absolute privilege, I do not see how a solicitor can come into a wit-ness-box to disclose statements made by him during the preparation of a case. The fact that the solicitor says he did not receive the document is admitted. . ' Mr. Donnelly: That will be sufficient, your Honour. Mr. Justice Adams: I do not see how I can put the solicitor in the box and ask him to disclose any matter that might be under the seal of privilege. Mr. Donnelly: Very well, I will not press the matter. Mr. Justice Adams: The envelope has already been discussed "quite a lot. It evidently refers, not to the contract, but to some earlier stage in the negotiations. ■>