ANOTHER SOLICITOR'S CASE.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1496, 19 July 1912, Page 9

ANOTHER SOLICITOR'S CASE.

W. G. SOMERVILI.E. ACTION TO STRUCK HIM OKI'. 'i'ho Anneal Court was occupied y«>lerday with tho ense in wliich William George Somerville, ;v barrister mill solicitor, was required to show cause why ho should not bo struck oft' tho roll of tho barristers and solicitors of tho Supremo Court of New Zealand. Somervillo once practised in Wellington, and is now practising in Damiovirke. Their Honours on the Bench were the Chief Justice (Sir Robfrt Stout), Sir Joshua Williams, Mr. Justice Deimislon, Mr. Justice Cooper, and Mr. Justice Chapman. Mr. A. Gray appeared for the Wellington Law Society, in .support of the proposal to have. Somorvillo's name struck off. Somerville conducted his own defence.

The Allegations. It was alleged'.ngain.st Somerville Hint, while acting as .solicitor lo one Mrs. Catherine Butler, of Wellington, a widow, ho received from Mrs. Butler .£I7OO, for the purpose of investing it for Mrs. Butler upon a first mortgage to be procured by Somervillo for Mrs. Butler from Thomas Andrew Hemming Field and Henry Montague Field as mortgagors of certain lands at Island Hay, Wellington, and of paying and applying the money to or for the uso of the mortgagors upon their completing the mortgage. It was s-aid to liavo been, the. duty of Somerville to have applied the .£l7oo' in paying off prior mortgages, and to have obtained a h'r-t mortgage of tho land to .Mrs. liutlcr; securing to her the repayment of the .£I7OO together with interest then-on. It was declared that) Somorvillo falselv represented to Mrs. Butler that he' had discharged all outstanding' claims upon the land, and had procured the Messrs. Field to bs registered proprietors of t'lia laud free from all encumbrances, and had obtained from them and had in his possession for Mrs. Butl?r a valid and rsgistrabln mortgage to her of the lan.il, whereas in fact Somerville had fraudulently converted tho .£I7OO to his own us?, or had otherwise fraudulently applied Iho same to sonic other purpose. It was further alleged against Somerville that on May IC, lilOS. lie received XMB 12s. 10(1. from Percy Hudson, on terms requiring him to account for or pay the money to au association or syndicate comprising John Hall I'lockton and others', and that he wrongfully appropriated .£132 15s. Id. of the money to his own use.

Publish Proceedings or Not? Before Mr. Gray addressed tha Court, •Somerville complained that the charge against.him had never been projierly investigated by the Law Society. The charge now brought, he said, was very dill'erwit from the charge in the original loiter, liven if he was exonerated, his business would be seriously affected, notwithstanding thnt the charges might have been instigated by an enemy of his. Whether ha won or lost the e:»c, his business would drop away if the, allegations were published, so he suggested to the Court that the allegations should not lx> pul>lished until tha decision of the Court was known. • The Chief Justice: Under whnt section of the Act do you >.:iy we have power to prohibit publication? 1 don't know of any. ' ' Mr. Somcrvillo-. I thought that the. Court had an inherent jurisdiction. 1 don't wsmt to find myssif in tho position that tho Court exonerates me, and gives me leave to practice my profession; but that uiy practice has vanished. . i Tho Chief Justice: If the Court exonerates ypu, surely your practice will not 1)3 affected. ~ ifr. 'Sofflcrvillo: I think it will, your "Honour. ' . Mr. Gray said that the usual.procedure had been followed by the Law Society. Complaint having Teached the council of the society, the council had proceeded to consider it, and had referred the matter to its solicitor for report. A letter had been sent to Somerville,' ami he had been notified to reply. His reply had not been considered satisfactory, and the society' had instructed Us solicitor to proceed. Mr. Somcrville: Not in Flockton's case. Mr. Grny: 'J'lwit is «o. The rules of the Law Society were referred to, whereupon the Chief Justice remarked: I see you have rules saying tliat you can either attend personally or send in hi writing. Mr. Somcrville: I was never asked to attend. The Chief Justice: You could have claimed the right to attend.

"Appropriated to his Own Use." Mr. Gray then addressed the Court. He «ii<! (hah iSomei'ville hod commenced praetico in Wellington in 1003, and in 1909 hiid been adjudicated a. bankrupt, failing for a. very largo sum of money. "And I think it is only proper," Mr. Gray was continuing. Mr. Somorrille (interjecting): Tliat is not before tho Court. .And my cst.ite showed .1 large surplus. Mr. Gray continued. He stated that in 19GG, Somervillv had got intv> touch with Mrs. Butler, who was possessed of some menus. Somerville had put before Mrs. Butler on application 'for a. loan of .£I7OO on the -security of land at Island Bay, which Messrs. Field had agreed to purchase from Somorville and three ethers. They had agreed to purchase it for .JJ2IOO. The title was in a Mr. Reeves, nnd subject to mortgage of X 950 and .£B9. At the time that the first mortgage- had been arranged, Messrs. Field had owed X 1990 on tho purchase money of this property. To make up that .CI'ODO, this first mortgage had been arranged with Mrs. Butler, and a second mortgage of .CiOO with two of Somerville's co-vendors (Mrs. Cleland and Mr. Venables), and (he remaining portion of the purchase money was to have been found by Messrs. Field. Mrs. Butler had paid the purchase money (o Somcrvillc in two sums—Xl-tflO on April 24. 190G, and £M on May U, 190 G. Somervillc had prepared a transfer from Reeves and the intermediate purchasers (including himself) to Messrs. Field, and had got it executed. He had also prepared a second mortgage from Messrs. Field to Mrs. Cleland and Mr. Vena hies, on May 28, 190G, and had received from Messrs. Field JSIS9, which included the whole of the balance of ,£1990. So that, in May. 190G, Somcrville had been in a position of being aljlo to complete the transaction and register Mr?. Butler's security. It ha'd been Somerville's. duty to have paid off tho existing encumbrances, and to havo permitted Mrs. Butler to have been registered as a first mortgagee, but ho had not done so. Judging from his books, Somervillo, immediately he had got Mrs. Butler's money, had proceeded to pay a large part of. it to his co-vendors, and to havo appropriated the rest to his own use. Mr. Pomcrville: That ia not in evidence! ilr. Gray: It is in your books.

Somerville's Side. Somerrille moved tlio Court for ■ an order rescinding and discharging' the rule nisi which had ljeen obtained on Angus'; 29, mil. The grounds ho put before'(lie Court am summarised as follow.— He assorted that ho had not committed any breach of duly or been guilty of any misconduct in the matters under consideration ; that his actions hod been bonafide mid L'omniendable. Althouslii itl7oo had been received by him from Mrs. Butler. uC7oO. or thereabout;, had been paid and applied to tlio us? of Mes=rs. Field, and .the balance U950) had hsen'lent by Mrs. Butler to Somcrvilk , , who had made himself psrsonally responsible for the repayment, tt hod never been-his duty to a'poly the JJI7OO. or the in diicharging prior mortsnges, and, if it ever had been his duly, he lnul been relieve! of that diitv. and prevented from performing it, by tin , actions r.f the mortgagors and Airs. Hiillw. F.von a ft or coiniihint had l)ocn mail" to Hie WYUinelMi l.r,w Siu'iely. Somilrville nnd his relatives li'd be«n apidieil to for further .-ocurily. Rscnrilies I'm , the paymi-nl of ihe ,L'l7.M) we.ro liftlvr llnu tlio security fir-t clTrrcd by the mortsrajror*. _ fuiIlipr 'f'cnritifs had bren given on conditions of S'OTifi'vilW' beiiiT exonerated from all dc.in.ind-. nnd accusations. "My Colossal Losses." At Hi? cotiiiiipurmnniit nf hi» r.ddvcM in $18 Court, Jli&t_m_lsoi

lie had honestly believed that he w:w p<wof considerable wealth in land and house property. Up (ill (lieu he had liv"I Hi Wellington all hi> life, and had had a clean record, For a verv lon , ' time lie had been in U,,. -emeu of Mr. Justice l-.dwank iris bankruptcy li-id bren duo thai extraordinary wave of depression which had pus-ed over the city in IMS. I hat bankruptcy had brought financial rum to him-elf.'. his wife, and his family. Excepting these two charges (her? was no Migration, notwilhslainliiip! his cMki-sal 10-ses (•( any misconduct on hi.i part in his luindlin , ; of trust monies. When disaster had overtaken him lie had done all he could to protect Mrs. Butler from loss. In tlie o r the public bankruptcy cast a shadow behind it, but. in the absence of irregularity, till! (.'own could not count his bankruptcy against him. .The case will be continued at 10.30 o clock this morning:.

STEVENS'S CASE. THE POSITION OV SIR, I}. C. KliiK. A matter within thn case of .T. G. O'C. Mevens, lv h o >), as i JCDU rer|ll ire<l to sho-v cause why his name should not be struck oil the roll of f-olicitors of the Supreme torn of New Zealand, and who*) case was hoard before the Appeal Court this week, was mentioned bv Mr. \. Grav Mr. Gray, who appeared in the ease as counsel for tk, L aw Society, said that ik wished to .stale, in justice to Mr. ]!. i- iV , (lliU tireVL ' tt 'as no suggestion that Mr. Kirk was in any way connected intli any alleged misappropriation.