salary of £500 a year. At the trial the principal
witness for the plaintiff company was one P, who
controlled the company though he was not a director.
McNair, J., rejected much of the evidence given
by P but gave judgment for the plaintiff company
on the claim and counter-claim on the ground that
the defendant had not made out his case on either
issue. McNair, J., stated that he attached little weight
or credibility to the evidence of either P or the
defendant; he refused to make any order as to costs
in view of the impression he had formed of P's
evidence, and refused leave to appeal on that issue.
The plaintiff company appealed.
Jenkins, L.J., said that there were certain statutory
difficulties in the way of the appeal. Section 50 (i)
of the Act of 1925 and Ord. 65,1'. i, made the award
of costs subject to the discretion of the Judge, and
Section 31 (i) made such an award unappealable
without leave.
The plaintiffs contended that, on
the authorities, an appeal would lie without leave if
the judge had taken into account wholly irrele–
vant matters, or exercised his discretion without
proper material. In particular, it was said that both
P and the defendant had given false evidence; they
cancelled each other out and so costs ought to follow
the event. That was an unimpressive argument:
once it was conceded that the credibility and conduct
of the parties were relevant to the exercise of dis–
cretion, it followed that the trial judge was in the
best position to decide the question. The plaintiffs
had relied on Hudsons, Ltd.
v.
De Halpert (1913),
108 L.T. 416, and Hong
v.
A. & R. Brown, Ltd.
(1948) i K.B., 515 ; but if the first case meant that
a company could not be penalised in costs for mis-
statements by its representatives in evidence, it was
wrong; and in the second case the observations of
Lord Green, M.R., could not be taken to go beyond
the observations of Lord Cave in Donald Campbell
and Co. Ltd.
v.
Pollak (1927) A.C. 732, at p. 811,
which showed that where the judge had limited the
matters taken into account to those concerned with
the litigation, the statute prohibited the entertain–
ment of an appeal. That case had cut down a certain
latitude which the Court of Appeal had previously
permitted themselves. The court could not entertain
such an appeal without leave unless it could be said
that the judge did not in truth exercise his discretion
at all. That meant that the case must be one of the
type to which Lord Cave had referred, where the
judge's discretion had been based on some mis–
conduct wholly unconnected with the cause of
action, or on some wholly irrelevant consideration.
In the present case the judge had exercised his dis–
cretion on matters which were wholly relevant to
the action, and having regard to the statutory pro–
visions the appeal could not be entertained.
Parker and Pearce,
L.JJ., agreed. Appeal dis–
missed.
(Bayliss-Baxter
v.
Sabath (1958) 2 All E.R. 209.)
Note.—
Section 5 2 of the Judicature Act (Ireland)
1877, corresponds to Section 31 (i) of the Judicature
Act, 1925.
OBITUARY.
MR. JOHN J. A. O'HARE, solicitor, died on the i8th
June, 1958, at his residence, 29 Castlerwood Avenue,
Rathmines, Dublin.
Mr. O'Hare served his apprenticeship with the
late Mr. James Tanham, 13 Westmoreland Street,
Dublin; was admitted in Easter Sittings 1934,
and practised at 25 Bachelor's Walk, Dublin.
REGISTRATION OF TITLE ACTS,
1891 and 1942.
Notice.
FOLIO 13698,
COUNTY TIPPERARY.
Registered Owner :
PATRICK TIERNEY.
The Registered Owner has applied for a Duplicate
of the Certificate of Title specified in the Schedule
hereto which is stated to have been lost or inadver–
tently destroyed.
A Certificate will be issued for all the lands in
Folio 29036, County Tipperary, in which the above
described lands are now comprised unless notifi–
cation is received in this Registry within 28 days
from the date of this Notice that the said Certificate
of Title is in the custody of a person not the
Registered Owner. Such notification should state
the grounds on which the Certificate is retained.
Dated this 28th day of June, 1958.
JOSEPH O'BYRNE,
Registrar of Titles.
SCHEDULE.
Land Certificate of Patrick Tierney to 6a. ir. 33p.
of the lands of Bellevue situate in the Barony of
Ormond Lower and County of Tipperary, being the
lands comprised in said Folio.
1. Registered Owner, James Ryan. Folio Number,
10200, County Tipperary, Lands of Lisheen in the
Barony of Eligarty containing I2a. or. op.
2. Registered Owner, Edward Lysaght. Folio
Number 4042, County Limerick.
Lands of
Thomond Row in the Barony of City of Limerick
and County of Limerick, containing a small plot
situate on the west side of a road leading south from
Thomond Row being the lands comprised in the
said Schedule.
THE REGISTRY.
REGISTER A.
SOLICITOR required to manage practice of deceased solicitor.
Town in Lienster. Box No. Aiyy.
REGISTER B.
LADY SOLICITOR, presently employed desires change, preferably
Dublin. Box No. Bzzj.