ACTION BY A LAW SOCIETY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XXIX, Issue 7829, 23 June 1909, Page 3

ACTION BY A LAW SOCIETY.

Per Press Association. DUNEDIN, June 22. To-day Mr Justice Williams heard a motion of the Council of the Law Society of Otago and Southland that a rule nisi bo granted by the Court calling upon Frederick Zwingle Moore and "Win. Luther Moore, of the firm of Moore, Moore and Nichol, to answer allegations contained m an affidavit sworn by Darcy Haggitt, solicitor, and to show cause why their names should not be struck off the roll of barristers and 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 m the affidavit constitute professional misconduct. Mr Haggitt's affidavit set out at length the enquiries made, and he submitted the following allegations: That the business generally was not conducted m a manner m which professional legal business should be conducted, That the non-professional part of the business was charged for as if it were professional business, and that the business generally was conducted m such a way that the charges and expenses were unnecessarily heavy. That the procedure of the Court and services of the Registrar were used m an improper manner m so-called taxations. That the conduct of the solicitors m the matter of obtaining an old age pension for Mr Poynt? amounts to grave misconduct on their part, as officers of this honourable Court. Mr J. McGregor said that the proceedings were taken at the instance of the Council of the Law Society, and arose out of an application for a renewal of old age pensions which came before Mr Hutchison, S.M., at Waikouaiti, the applicant being Mr Poyntz. The Magistrate thought it necessary to institute certain enquiries as to the annuity which Mr Poyntz had enjoyed for some years, and as the Magistrate found he was not able to give very intelligible accounts of the matter, it became necessary for Mr Moore to appear before the. Magistrate to explain. Mr Moore did so, producing a lot of documents and papers of various kinds, bills of costs and copies or originals of mortgages, etc. The Magistrate, after an examination of the material before him, came to the conclusion that Mr Poyntz and \ his wife were entitled to a renewal, but he .thought it necessary to state the result of his investigation m the form of a written judgment. After very full investigation the society had decided to bring the matter before the Supreme Court, and the most serious charge of many alleged was that F. Z. Moore had deliberately concocted a scheme whereby Poyntz was deprived or signed away all property and the annuity he possessed m order that ho 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 for all alleged auspicious circumstances were offered. His Honour reserved his cteoislon,