AN APPEAL

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 20107, 28 March 1928, Page 6

AN APPEAL

WANGANUI CASE QUESTION OF RENTAL. I Per Press Association. 1 WELLINGTON, Afarch 27. The Court of Appeal was engaged this morning hearing the case between the Drapery Importing Coy., Ltd., and Janet Donaldson Brechin and Jane Eli-

zabeth Brechin, both of Wanganui, spinsters. The D.I.C. Co. are lessees of Aliases Brechin under a lease which provides, inter alia, that every 14 years a new rental is to be fixed by an arbitrator, calculated on the basis of the unimproved value of the land on February

The matter was submitted to arbitration to ascertain the new rental. In the course of the proceedings the quesion arose as to what was the proper method of assessing rental. The question was referred to the Supreme Court, and Air Justice Ostler decided that the proper basis upon which the arbitrators should proceed was to determine from the evidence the unimproved value of the land as on February J, J 927, and upon that value fix a fair and reasonable rent that should be paid, so that the lessors obtain a fair and reasonable return for the value of their property. Upon this the arbitrator fixed the rental at £495 per annum, and the D.I.C. Co. is now appealing on the grounds that there is an error of Jaw on the face of the award, inasmuch as the answer given by Air Justice Ostler to questions submitted in the special case referred to him and apearing in the award was wrong in law, and constitutes misdirection to the arbitrators and umpire, which the umpire followed in making his award.

Air Afyers, K.C., and Air Pope appear for the appellant company, and Air Treadwell for the respondents. Decision was reserved.