Charles Jefcoat, a Science Teacher from Belfast, formerly of Limerick, filed a lawsuit against the G. S. & W. Railway Company at the Limerick Quarter Sessions. The plaintiff claimed £11 5s for the value of a trunk containing various articles and goods that he had entrusted to the defendants for carriage from Limerick to Wolverhampton. However, the railway company failed to deliver the trunk.

During the trial, Mrs Jefcoat, the plaintiff’s wife, provided evidence of the trunk’s contents, which included £4 in cash. The trunk had been lost during the journey and was later found, but some of its contents, including the £4 and other items, were missing. The trunk had mistakenly been sent to Stockport instead of Wolverhampton.

In his judgment, Judge Adams ruled that a person was entitled to compensation for the loss of their personal luggage. However, he rejected the claim for the missing £4, as the plaintiff’s husband had no knowledge of its presence in the trunk. The judge attributed the mistake of sending the trunk to Stockport to the difficulty in understanding Mr Jefcoat’s English accent when he mentioned Wolverhampton. Ultimately, the judge awarded the plaintiff a decree of five guineas as compensation.

Limerick Echo – Tuesday 10 January 1905