REPAIRS TO OPUA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 17014, 12 April 1923, Page 8

REPAIRS TO OPUA.

CLAIM AGAINST ANDERSON’S. The Opua Shipping Company, in the Supreme Court to-day, sued Anderson’s. Ltd., for £266 4s. The case originated in repairs to the Opua at Lyttelton in March and April, 1921. The company claimed that it had engaged Anderson’s, Ltd., to clean the condensers and remove tube plates, rnd that workmen employed by Anderson’s, Ltd., negligently failed to remove two five-eighth inch bolts and KJiie five-eighth inch nut, and that, when the vessel left the W'ellington wharf for Nelson on April 13, the holts and the nut were carried through the air-pump. The air-pump liner was fro ken in three places, the crown of the bucket was pierced, the head-

valve was cracked and buckled, and the air-pump rod was bent, with the teeult that the vessel could not go to Nelson until Apiil 15, temporary repairs having been made by J. J. Niven and Co. The vessel lost three days and six hours. The company paid Niven and Co. £lO3 14s. It claimed that sum and £162 10s general damages.

Defendants denied contractive relationship with the company, denied that workmen employed by them were negligent, and claimed " that if there v.afi negligence, the workmen were the company’s servants and were controlled

by the company's officers. The case was heard before his Honor -dr Justice Adams •'rr'. z -necial jury ci four. M W. R. Lascelles apjienred for plaintiffs, and Mr F. S. Wilding for defendants. Mr Lascelles said that under the law of torts an employer, in certain circumstances, was liable for the negligence of his workmen. In the present case it was a question whether «-r not Anderson’s, Ltd., had parted with control of the workmen who did The repairs. M illiam Mo watt, chie f engineer on iho vessel, said that Mr Johnston, defendant's foreman. instructed the .workmen, and a good deal of time on the job. Th' l . bolts found in the air pump were the same as had been used in the baffle plates when the repairs were done. To Mr Wilding: It v/as usual in contracts of that nature for the ship’s engineer to watch the work in the Interests of the ship. Mr Johnston did not hire (to witness) the workmen employed It was not a practice for tf'undries to hire workmen to vessels, but it was a common practice for engineering firms to supply men to vessols, to work under the chief engineers. and for the firms to charge the vessels for the men's wages and' cost of material. If he had seen men doing anything wrong, lie would check them, and would report them to the foreman, but he had no authority to put them off. (Proceeding.)