STRINGER and MAHAFFY. v McCAUGHEY

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Judge: M. R.
• Judgment Date: 25 November 1913
• Court: Chancery Division (Ireland)
• Date: 25 November 1913

McCaughey

and

Stringer and Mahaffy.

M. R.

CASES

DETERMINED BY

THE CHANCERY DIVISION

OF

THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN IRELAND,

AND BY

THE IRISH LAND COMMISSION,

AND ON APPEAL THEREFROM IN

THE COURT OF APPEAL.

1914.

Practice — Amendment of error in order — Error arising from accidental slip of party seeking to amend order — Order XXVIII, Rule 11.

The Court has jurisdiction to correct an error in an order arising from an accidental slip on the part of the person who obtained the order and seeks to have it corrected, although there was no error in the sense that the order as made did not carry out the intention of the Court.

The plaintiff had obtained on notice of motion an order, which was passed and entered, that the defendant S. should pay to the plaintiff a certain sum less by a sum of £199 which had been already paid into Court. The order followed the terms of the plaintiff's notice of motion, which by mistake gave S. credit for the whole of the sum of £199, he being in fact entitled to credit for only one-half of such sum. The Court, on the application of the plaintiff, amended the order by substituting for the words, “less by the sum of £199,” the words,“less by one moiety of the sum of £199.”

Chessum and Sons v. Gordon ([1901] 1 Q. B. 694) applied and followed.

Motion.

The plaintiff and the defendants were guarantors of the Springfield Estate Co. The company having gone into liquidation, the plaintiff was made liable for the whole amount guaranteed. He then brought an action against the defendants for contribution. The defendant Stringer consented to judgment, and an inquiry was directed to ascertain whether the defendant Mahaffy (who did not appear in the action) was able to contribute. The chief clerk found that he was not, and the plaintiff thereupon brought a motion to enforce a contribution from the defendant Stringer of one-half of the amount paid by the plaintiff on the guarantee. A sum of £199 4s. 11d. was received out of the assets of the company, and paid into Court to the credit of the action in relief of the guarantors. By an error the plaintiff's notice of motion asked for an order for payment to the plaintiff, by the defendant Stringer, of the sum of £2603 (being one-half of the sum paid by the plaintiff on the guarantee) “less by the said sum of £199 4s. 11d.,” whereas it should have read “£2603, less by one moiety of the said sum of £199 4s. 11d.” The order made on the motion followed the terms of the notice of motion. The...