A Newspaper Sued

Waipukurau Press, Volume XXIII, Issue 145, 6 December 1929, Page 5

A Newspaper Sued

RESULT OF ALLEGED CONTRACT JUDGMENT RESERVED (Press Association) DUNEDIN, Thursday. After a hearing which lasted for three days, conclusion was reached in the Supreme Court, before His Honour Mr Justice Kennedy to-day, in the case in which William Twaddle, as a representative of a syndicate, proceeded against Albert Eden Russell, Robert James Mills, and James Radcliffe McNaughton, pro--prietors of the “Clutha Leader, a newspaper at Balclutha, for specific performance of an alleged contract to sell the newspaper before the business was sold by auction. The conditions of sale weer drawn up, one clause providing that the partners should sign a deed of covenant that they would not compete within a radius of 25 miles for ten years. Prior to the auction, McNaughton declined to sign the deed, and the auctioneer made this known at the sale. There was a belief at the time of sale that McNaughton could be compelled to sign, but this later proved to be unfounded. Plaintiff’s principal claim was that the business was sold minus McNaughton’s signature to the deed, but the defendants claimed that as McNaughton had refused to sign, there had never been a completed contract. ■ Judgment was reserved.