230 / 364
proved, because the defendant's failure to take any
steps
to prevent the cause being heard unde
fended amounted to a breach of an agreement,
made with the plaintiff orally in June, 1960, to
defend the divorce petition. A month after the
hearing the defendant received a legal aid certi
ficate, for which he had sent the plaintiff applic
ation forms in August, 1961; the scope of the
certificate was to defend the husband's suit and to
cross-pray for relief. A month later, the defendant
having drafted instructions to counsel, a confer
ence with counsel was arranged which took place
in January, 1962,
the plaintiff being present.
Counsel advised
the plaintiff that she was
in
desertion, that there was no point in defending, if
that were possible, but that she should claim
maintenance for herself and her son. The plaintiff
accepted this advice. In consequence no applic
ation was made to set aside the decree nisi. The
decree nisi which was subsequently made absolute.
The plaintiff brought an action against
the
defendant
for damages for negligence on
the
basis that a decree of divorce had thereby been
pronounced wrongly against her, that she had
lost the right to pray for divorce herself and
claim maintenance for her son and herself, and
that she had suffered in health. The defendant
contended that counsel's advice given in confer
ence had broken the chain of causation of damage.
Held :
(i) counsel's error in advising did not
break the chain of causation of damage resulting
from the defendant solicitor's prior negligence.
(ii
the plaintiff had lost (a) maintenance for
her son, which would probably have been ordered
but for the defendant's negligence at a rate of
about 40s. weekly for eighty weeks (£160), (b)
chances of protecting a future maintenance claim
for herself when she ceased to be able to work
(£750) and of successfully defending the divorce
suit against her and of herself obtaining a divorce
(£200); but she was not entitled to damages for
mental distress, as her claim
to damages
lay
in contract, not in tort. (Cook v. S. (1966) 1 All
E.R. 248).
Agency Commission
The plaintiff agents accepted instructions "to
sell" the defendants' business on the basis of false
statements as to its financial condition. A pros
pective purchaser was introduced who refused to
go through with the transaction when the true
facts became known to him. Upon the plaintiff's
action
to recover their agree commission from
the defendants, held that in the absence of fraud
their claim could not succeed.
(Bradley-Wilson
(1954) v. Canyen Gardens
(1965) 52. D.L.R.
(2d.) 717, British Columbia C.A.).
POSITIONS VACANT
Switzerland
Applications are invited for a post of Deputy
Director in the United International Bureaux for
the Protection of Intellectual Property at Geneva
in Switzerland. The duties of the post consist,
in general, of assisting the Director in organizing
and implementing the tasks of Birpi. Candidates
should have : —
(a)
a wide experience in the field of indus
trial property law and in the field of copyright
law—particularly in their international aspects—
or at least in one of these two fields, preferably
with some experience in the other;
(b)
a University degree in law or equivalent
professional qualification;
(c)
an excellent knowledge of one of
the
official
languages (English and French) and at
least a good knowledge of the other. Knowledge
of additional languages would be an advantage.
Age
limit for- persons other than officers of
Birpi; 55 as of January 1, 1967. The annual
salary will be 86,184 Swiss francs subject to a
deduction of approximately 9 per cent in respect
of pension fund schemes.
Persons wishing to apply should write to the
Head of Personnel, Birpi, 32, Chemin des Colom-
bettes, Geneva, Switzerland, for application forms.
These forms, duly completed, should reach Birpi
not later than June 15, 1966.
Canada
A good law clerk or junior solicitor is required
urgently by a Canadian firm of
lawyers who
deal in Real Estate. Initial salary is $6,000.00 a
year. Persons interested should communicate forth
with and directly with John L. McDowell, Esq.,
Messrs. McGann, Fitzgerald, Roche & Dudley,
Solicitors, 51 & 52 Fitswilliam Square, Dublin 2.
LIBRARY ACQUISITIONS
TO APRIL 1965
Section A—
NEW ACQUISITIONS
Albridge (C. T. M.): Service Agreements, 1964.
Blanchard (Jean): The Church in Contemporary Ireland
1963.
Blundell
(L.)
and G.
Dobry:
Town and Country
Planning, 1963.
Boulton (A. Harding): The Making of Business Con
tracts, 1965.
British Institute of Comparative Law: Symposium on
European Convention of Human Riehts. November
1964.
12