Jack O'Connor was the trustee of a trust that owned the family farm in Waimate since their father died in 1911.

Jack and his two brothers Dennis and Joseph both worked and lived on the farm owned by the trust.

Within a month, Mr Hart, unhappy with leasing the farm, contacted the vendor's solicitor to obtain an outright sale of the farm, and they later agreed to a sale at an unspecified price to be determined by a valuer.

It was also later discovered that the sale conditions were arguably unfair, as the property was later sold for $180,000 (rounded up from a valuation of $179,780), when a subsequent valuation was $197,000, and the purchaser only had to pay for the farm two years after he had taken possession, giving Mr Hart the benefit of any rise in farm prices in those two years.

After the two surviving brothers retained new solicitors, they subsequently took legal action to set aside the sale.