The Archive · 1921

Tae JUDGEMENT

His Lordship, in giving judgement, said:—This is an action for damages for wrongful dismissal and the only question that I have to determine is the amount of damages, for the defendant admits that he did wrongfully terminate the agreement. The agreement was made in May of last year, and under it the employment began in August. It amounted (practically to an agreement for 5} years, the first five years of which were to be paid for at an average salary of Tls. 500 per month, with medical expenses about which we have heard nothing in this case and the last six months of which were to be at £60 per month with first class return passage money to England. The employment, as I say, began in August of last year and was wrongfully terminated at the end of November, after three months, and the difficult question for me is, how much damages plaintiff is entitled to. It is worth noting that by his claim, plaintiff asks for something about two years' salary, calculated at Tls. 500 per month, and then £60 per month for the last six months, and also the. cost of a re turn passage to England.

Now the measure of damage in these cases is known, but it is I think very difficult to apply. As a rule, a judge is not left in the position of having to decide them himself. He has the assistance of 4 jury, and then the question largely turns afterwards as to whether or not the jury were correctly directed by the judge on the principle on which they should estimate damages. All we are told, really, is that the measure of damage is the actual loss incurred. But it is well recognized that it is the duty of the dismissed servant to do his best to minimize the loss and io try and get other employment. The result of that is, that in the long run a man engaged for a

Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.

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