LENGHTY CASE ENDS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 74, Issue 139, 15 June 1931, Page 9

LENGHTY CASE ENDS

£15,000 CLAIMED FROM BANK JURY’S VERDICT FOR £4OOO The Paddison Bank case came to a dramatic end in Sydney last week, when, after a retirement of JI hours 50 minutes—lo minutes short of the time-limit —tho jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff, C. W. Paddison, for £4OOO 4g sd. Paddison sued the English, Scottish and Australian Bank for £15,000, which ho alleged the bank had paid on unauthorised or forged cheques. Tho hearing lasted 58 d:Xq which is a record for a jury case in the New South Wales Courts. For the last month each juryman was paid £4 5s Gd a day. The costs in the case will amount to about £14,000 or £15,000. The case was heard before Mr Justice Stephen and a jury of four. In the course <f tho case a great deal of argument was devoted to the question of “substiution. ’’ This was a contention raised by the plaintiff that ho had in fact signed a great number of cheques which were destroyed, and that thj cheques claimed by him to be forged were substituted for them. The bank contended that there was no evidence to support such contention, and that it was raised by the plaintiff only in an attempt to explain why it was that ho admitted only 77 cheques as genuine in tho business during 15 months. I A request by defendants for a slay of proceedings for 14 days was granted on tho usual terms. Many months wcro spent in the pro- , paration of the case. Ono handwriting expert was employed for six m nths before tho action was commence Exhibits ran into thousands and were so bulky that a trolley was requistionet to transfer them to the jury room.