203 / 216
under no circumstances would
the Court of
Appeal be justified in interfering with the dis
cretion of the learned judge in the Court below,
yet it would only be in the most extraordinary
circumstances that an application to review the
decision of the judge as to the conduct of the
business in his own Court could succeed ; that the
only case in which the Court of Appeal would so
interfere would be if satisfied that the decision
was such that, notwithstanding the exercise of
the learned judge of the power of control which
he would have, over the action when it came on for
hearing, justice did not result, and that he had
failed to see that such would be the effect of his
decision. While it might be difficult to found a
right of appeal from the refusal of the Court to
make any order on an informal application for an
adjournment, it is probable that the refusal to
grant an order for adjournment on an application
made formally on notice and supported by
affidavit would be a judgment or order and
consequently subject to appeal. Having regard
to the essential similarity in terms of the corres
ponding statutes and rules, it would appear that
the right of appeal is governed by the same
considerations in the Irish as the English Courts.
Action for negligence against Solicitors.
THE question as to whether an action for negli
gence by a client against his solicitor falls within
the rule
"Actio personalia moritur cum persona
"
was recently decided by the President of the
High Court on hearing a reference of a preliminary
point of law. The action on the pleadings was
based on negligence. The defendant died while
the action was still pending and his personal
representatives pleaded that the alleged cause of
the action abated on his death, as being founded
on tort. His Lordship held that he was entitled
to look at the substance of the action and not
merely at the form of the pleadings. The test to
be applied was whether the liability, if any, of the
defendant to the plaintiff arose independently of
any contract between them, or whether it arose
out of obligations undertaken by contract.
It
seemed to him that the substance of the action
before him was the breach of a duty arising out
of a contractual obligation, and
the claim,
therefore, did not abate by reason of the death of
the defendant.
(72 I.L.T.R. 190).
Restriction of Rents Order.
EVERY Solicitor will probably need a copy of
the Emergency Powers (No. 313) Order, 1944
(S. 11. & O., 1944, No. 29) which came into force
on 8th February, 1944. The effect of the Order is
to control the rights of landlords both in regard
to recovering possession and increasing the rent
of premises to which the order applies.
Con
trolled premises are, subject to certain exceptions,
denned as dwelling or business premises situate
in the County borough of Dublin or the borough
of Dun Laoghaire, if'the rateable valuation does
not exceed £60, and situate elsewhere if the
rateable valuation does not exceed £40. Under
Article 4, the basic rent of controlled premises
which were let for a term not greater than five
years on 7th May, 1941, is the rent payable on
that date, or in the case of premises last so let
on a date not earlier than five yers before 7th
May, 1941, the rent at such earlier date.
In the
case of controlled premises not within Article 4
the Court is empowered to fix the basic rent.
The Order provides for the recovery by tenants,
but not retrospectively beyond 8th February,
1944, of any sum overpaid in respect of rent
within six years after the date of payment
thereof. It also contains an important provision
enabling the Court in certain cases to rescind,
retrospectively, ejectment orders made before the
making of the Emergency Powers Order. An
application to have an ejectment order rescinded
under this Article must be made within three
months from 8th February, 1944.
The Order
does not apply to premises already controlled
under the Act of 1923. Copies of the Order are
now on sale at the Government Publications
Office, College Street, Dublin.
Solicitors' Documents in the Central
Office.
THE attention of solicitors is directed to the fact
that, from time to time, many of their documents
and copies of documents are left in the Central
Office of the High Court. Solicitors are reminded
that these documents may be of importance to
them and that they should be taken up from the
Office.
Experience in the Central Office has
shown that in taking up their own documents
solicitors' assistants sometimes also take away
documents of other firms by inadvertence. We
have been asked to remind solicitors of the
necessity of care by their assistants in this matter,
as mistakes may cause considerable inconvenience
to other members of the profession.
Our Statute Roll
"A CALENDAR of the Statute Roll in Force"
(1922-1943) is to appear early in March at
The
Sign ofthe Three Candles.
The object of the book,
which runs to about 100 pages, is to save pro-
49