CHARGE AGAINST SOLICITORS.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2535, 23 June 1909, Page 5

CHARGE AGAINST SOLICITORS.

ALLEGED PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT. [Peb Press Association.] DUNEDIN, June 22. To-day Mr. Justice Williams heard a. motion of the Council of the Law Society oi Otago and Southland that, a rule nisi be granted by the Court calling upon Frederick Zwinglo Moore and At illiam Luther Moore, of the firm of Moore, Moore, and Niehoi, to answer al.egations contained in an affidavit, sworn by Darcy Haggitt, solicitor, and to show cause why tlieir names should not be struck off the roll of barristers' and the roll of. solicitors of the Court, or why they should not be suspended from practice as barristers and solicitors, or why such other order should not be made, as the Court thought right, on the ground that the matters stated in the affidavit constitute professional misconduct. Mr Haggitt’s affidavit set out at length particulars as to enquiries made, and he submitted the following allegations: (a) that the business generally was not conducted in a manner in which professional legal business should be conducted ; (b) that the non-professional part of the business was charged for as if it were professional business, and that business generally was conducted."" in such a. way that charges and expenses were unnecessarily heavy; (cl that the procedure of the Court and the services of the Registrar were used in an improper manner, and so called taxation ; (d) that the conduct of the solicitors in the matter of obtaining an old age pension for Air Poyntz amounts to grave misconduct on their part as officers of this honorable Court. Air. J. AlcGregor said the proceedings were taken at the instance of the Council of the Law Society, and aros» out of an application of the renewal of an old age pension, which came before Air. Hutchison. S.AL, at Waikouaiti, the applicant being Air. Poyntz. The Magistrate thought it necessary to institute certain inquiries as to the annuity which Air. Poyntz had enjoyed for some years, and as the- Alagistrate found lie was not able to give a very intelligible account of the matter, it became necessary for Aloore to appear before the Alagistrate to explain. Moore did so. producing a lot of documents and papers of various kinds, billsof costs and copies or originals of mortgages, ootc. The Magistrate, after examining the material before him, came to the conclusion that Air. Poyntz and his wife were entitled to'a. renewal, but lie thought it necessary to state the result of his investigations in form of a written judgment. After a very full investigation, the Society had decided to bring the matter before the Sunrerne Court. The most serious charge of many alleged was that Frederick Moore had deliberately concocted a scheme whereby Mr. Poyntz was deprived or signed away all the property and" annuity he possessed in order that. he might become entitled to an old age pension and evade certain insistent creditors. It was alleged that the costs charged were excessive, and documentary evidence was brought to prove that Moore’s reward for successfully engineering this scheme was to be a heavy fee. . . The defence offered was a total denial of all the charges made, and full explanations of all the alleged suspicious circumstances were offered. His Honor reserved his decision.