SOLICITOR SUED.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LVIII, Issue 17844, 27 July 1921, Page 9

SOLICITOR SUED.

DISPUTE OVER MONEY. QUESTION OF OWNERSHIP. A civil action against a well-known Auckland solicitor for the recovery of £50, alleged to be due to plaintiffs, was heard before Mr. W. R, McKean, S.M., in the Magistrate's Court yesterday. The plaintiffs were Thomas Finlay and Son, Ltd., manufacturers, of Victoria Street, formerly known as the Household Necessity Company, Ltd. (Mr. Dickson), and the defendant, A. Hall Skelton, solicitor (Mr. Simson). The statement of claim set out that a traveller, J. P. Zemanek, formerly employed by the plaintiffs, had collected £50, which he had paid into defendant's hands, as his solicitor. Zemanek had no authority to pay this money to. defendant, as it was plaintiff's property. De-. fendant refused to hand it over when requested to do so. Mr. Simson said the- case had its beginnings over a year ago. An interview was held between plaintiffs and defendant to decide who was entitled to the money. No agreement was reached!, so plaintiffs sued Zemanek. The case occupied 2b days of hearing, and the magistrate, in reserved decision, found against plaintiffs on the ground that Zemanek was an agent and not a principal. A. Hall Skelton, in evidencej said the question was not whether he was holdingthe money in trust. He had declined to haijd it over to plaintiffs because he was trying to bring about a private agreement ih the dispute between his client and plaintiffs. * .Decision was reserved.