ONLY £2O DAMAGES

Waikato Times, Volume 121, Issue 20213, 5 June 1937, Page 8

ONLY £2O DAMAGES

TROTTER CASE VERDICT. DEFENDANTS AWARDED COBTS. ROMA GIRL’S INJURY. Damages amounting to £2O, the value of the sulky damaged, were allowed by the jury in the civil action, held before His Honour Mr Justice Fair in the Supreme Court at Hamilton yesterday, in which Fred Vincent Cutts, Hamilton East, claimed £440 7s 6d from William Tilsley, farmer, of Tahuna, and the International Harvester Company of New Zealand, Ltd., motor truck -salesmen. The principal claim was made on account of injuries allegedly received by the trotting mare Roma Girl as a result of a collision which occurred at Pokeno in December, 1935. The Jury found that the mare had not been Injured In the collision, and on that count the verdlot was given In favour of defendants, who were allowed costs. The sum of £2O had been previously paid Into oourt for the damage done to the sulky. Plaintiff was represented by Mr R. W. Bennett and defendants by Mr A. K. North.

Continuing his evidence after the luncheon adjournment yesterday, John Thomas Carr, labourer, who had, as an employee of Cameron and Sons, transported Roma Girl and three other horses to Auckland in December, 1935, stated that he had had the engine in gear before the collision and that the shock had thrown it out of gear. Cross-examined, he said that he did not take any notice of Roma Girl’s condition at the end of the journey. He did not notice any injury and did not hear at the time of any injury having ibeen received by the mare. Lewis Booth, farmer and trainer, of Ngaruawahia, said that plaintiff had had quite fair success racing his horses, and was a capable trainer. The damaged sulky had been a good machine. George Taylor Mitchell. horse trainer, of Cambridge, said that the impact had been severe. Cutts’s sulky, which would be worth £2O, had been badly damaged. He would not race In a sulky that had been smashed and then repaired. In reply to Mr Bennett, witness said that he had a sulky that had cost £42; £2O would have been a fair price for the machine in question before the accident. James Austin Colvin, farm hand, of Cambridge, stated that he had seen Roma Girl on her return from Auckland, and he had noticed that she was slightly lame. Mr Cutts had bathed the animal’s leg and put liniment on it. In reply to Mr North, witness said that it was after the Auckland meeting, and not the Cambridge meeting, that the mare’s leg had been attended by Cutts. Mare Valued at £6OO. Patrick Colvin, farmer and horsetrainer, of Cambridge, said that he saw the mare on her return from Auckland, and she was limping. He had examined the mare, which had a swollen hip, the muscles apparently being strained. The animal had given promise of being a good trotter.

He estimated her value, on her performance as a maiden, at not less than £6OO. He knew her pedigree and capabilities. He considered that she had completely lost her value for racing. As a brood mare, If she proved successful, she would be worth between £BO and £9O. To Mr North, witness said that his opinion of the mare’s value had been formed before the accident on the strength of her performances. Richard Allen McMillan, farmer and horse-trainer, of Tamahere, testified that the mare was In perfect condition before the accident. He had timed her on her last work-out before being sent to Auckland, and his timing agreed with that claimed by plaintiff. He had driven the mare since the accident, and found her decidedly lame. The accident had ruined her chances as a racing mare. She might be a good brood mare and if she produoed one of two good foals she might be quite valuable. He would have given £4OO for her before the accident. She might be worth £IOO now; he could not say with any certainty. Case for Defendants. Addressing the Jury before calling witnesses for the defendants, Mr North said that liability for the accident was admitted by defendants, who had paid into court £2O for the damaged sulky, which, the defence contended, was all the loss sustained by the plaintiff through the accident. Augustus Cameron, owner of the horse-float which had been involved in the collision, when asked what he would have paid for Roma Girl before the mishap, said that he "would not have had her on his mind..’’ She would have been difficult to dispose of. He did not know of one trotter in the district sold for £SOO. One or two Gup horses had been sold for around £250. These animals had been much better bred than Roma Girl, and had good performances to their credit. He had seen Roma Girl unloaded from the float at Auckland. There had then been no sign whatever of Injury or lameness. If anything had been wrong he would have noticed it. In reply lo Mr Bennett, witness said that on the way hack to Hamilton the float had had a break-down due to damage done to the clutch-plates at the time of the collision. It was after the Cambridge meeting that plaintiff said the mare had been injured when In the float.

Alfred Trevor Rlackmore, driver of the defendant’s truck, said that the impact had been very slight, the truck radiator being only slightly pushed back. The truck was one of 30 cwt. capacity. John King Irwin, factory manager, Hamilton, gave evidence as to the cost of repairing the damaged sulky. The work could be done for £7, at which price a guaranteed good job could be done, lie had repaired many sulkies and never found drivers reluctant to use the repaired vehicles. Subpoenaed by Both Sides. William Richard Charles Jamieson, who appeared under subpoena from both the plaintiff’s and defendant’s counsel, said that lie was In the float with the mare at the time of the collision. The mare had then suffered no injury. At the impact it. had fallen

forward with Its front legs on to him, and then reared up and back, but had not fallen backward. Witness produced a 1936 calendar on which he had made notes of -seeing plaintiff riding the mare on April 1 and driving her on April 8. To Mr Bennett, witness said he could not fail to recognise the mare. He had no cause to be on anything but good terms with plaintiff. Martin Crosby Moran, trainer, of Hamilton East, who also appeared under subpoena, said that he had had the mare for six months when she was three years old, but had not kept her, as he did not think she had a future. The horse General Sarsfleld which had beaten Roma Girl at. Thames he had sold for a client for £lO. To Mr Bennett, witness said the mare was then a poor starter, though she might have improved since. The time claimed for her by plaintiff of 3min 20sec for 11 miles was good for a young horse. The mare was one of the progeny of Author Dillon, hut many trainers considered that that stallion’s female progeny were not of the same racing standard as stallions and geldings hv him. Witness agreed that on the time claimed for her ihe mare might be worth £3OO if she were a good starter, but not under any other circumstances. “Possible, Not Probable.” David Donald Wilson, veterinary surgeon, of Hamilton, said that he had examined the injury on the near hind quarter of Roma Girl. It, was “possible hut not probable,” he thought that the injury might have been received at the time of the collision. The mare was almost completely recovered and though she could not, lie considered sound at the present time, there was a reasonable prospect of complete recovery if she were worked. From his knowledge of her performances at meetings he considered she was an expensive proposition as a racer. Recalled In Rebuttal. At. the conclusion of the case for the defendants, permission was granted Mr Bennett, to recall plaintiff In rebuttal of evidence given by the witnesses Cameron and Jamieson. Plaintiff stated that lie had written to Cameron on December 33, 1935, advising that he was claiming damages for injury suffered by the mare when in the float. The letter had been posted not more than two days after writing said plaintiff in reply to a question by His Honour. Jamieson, said plaintiff, had previously slated to him that the mare had fallen down backwards in the Jjvat when the impact occurred