MISCONDUCT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1511, 6 August 1912, Page 8

MISCONDUCT.

TWO SOLICITORS SUSPENDED, THREE I'EAUS EACH. SOMERYir.r.E AM) STEVENS. Two .solicitors were suspended from practice by decision uf the Court of Appeal yesterday. 'JMi-j-c were .lolm Gwyiictii O'Connor Stevens, of Otaki. ami William (jc.'rge Somerville. Jn each casa pvates-ional initcomlucl was ilecmed to be inoveil. STEVENS CASE. "THE PATENT WliF/'K IiTX'OKDKII." As regards the ease of Stevens, it may be mentioned tnat 111 spanner (jir. K. C. •hint; was nuly exoiu-ni'.Ht uy vne tnun. i'jic allegations against 'elevens were;— That oil October 24, 1010, wliilo acting ostensibly as solicitor for .a .Nati\e woman, named iiangiapoa \\ alkali, but reaily m the interests of one Sydney iiobjonns East, lie (Stevens) applied to vue Public Trustee lor a lean to Kangiapoa waikari o'i .£1001), on the security of certain land, and ttiat lie falsely represented luat the loan was required tor the purpose of improving certain other lands, whereas the money was (as Stevens well knew) required tor tiic 1 purchase from East of a share in the patent rights of ail invention. This invention was for indicating the position of sunken vessels, and was called "The l'ntent Automatic Wreck liecorder." Stevens, East, and one John Benticlc Blaine were' the patentees. Both, prior to making the application tor the loan and afterwards, Stevens persuaded the woman Kangiapoa Waikari to purchase the share in the patent from East, and to mortgage her land fir that purpose, well knowing that she had no independent advice, and was not competent to act- Tor herself in the matter. By reason of this persuasion, East obtained .£SOO from her out of the proceeds of the loan. It appeared from the affidavits filed that tho Public Trustee would not linvo granted the loan if the purpose for which the money was to be used had been correctly stated iu the application. Summary of Finding. At the conclusion of a long review of the ease (rend by Mr. Justice Chapman), the Court, after expressing the opinion that the evidence of East was quite unreliable, added:— ~\Vc find that tlie charge against Stevens lias been proved, lie has allowed tliif X.ilive woman to embark in a hazardous speculation in a patent in which lie himself was largely interested, and which i: of problematic value, and lias subordinated his duty to his client to his own interest in his'joint venture with East and Blaine, and has misrepresented to Hit Public Trustee the true purpose of the lean. It is not proved that he received any part of tho money obtained from the Public Trust Office, beyond his legitimate costs, but, in our opinion, he has been guilty of grave misconduct as a solicitoi of this Court, and we order that he Ist suspended from practice for a period oi three years from this date, and that lit pays the costs of these proceedings, which we fix at .£3l 10s., and disbursements, tc be ascertained by the Registrar of this Court. He will he allowed a month in which to close his office.