SUMMONS FOR CONTEMPT

Taranaki Daily News, 2 December 1929, Page 11

SUMMONS FOR CONTEMPT

FAILURE TO GIVE ACCOUNTS PROCEEDINGS AGAINST LAWYER. SEQUEL TO MARTINI BANKRUPTCY., A summons for contempt of court. . against George Grey, solicitor, was men-' I tioned in the Supreme Court in New! . Plymouth on Saturday morning. The; I proceedings were instituted by the de-; I puty official assignee acting in the bank-! rupt estate of Henry L, Martini, the' grounds of tho complaint beir_ that Grey, had not yet complied with an order of a judge to render accounts within a month from the date of service. Mr. Phil. Grey asked for an adjournment of the hearing till as late as passible in the session. He and his father were partners, he said. His father was at the end of a long illness when the order was served and had not recovered properly yet. This illness had thrown the whole burden of the work in the office on counsel’s shoulders, and besides that he had had to undertake himself the preparation of the accounts asked for. This had proved to be a much longer task, than anticipated, and had they realised this they could not have agreed to have the accounts ready within a month, the time allowed from the serving of the order. When completed the accounts would occupy over. 100 pages and the bill of costs alone, oyer 50 pages. They would take a week... to type. There was no attempt to avoid responsibility in the matter, and .in order to save his father he had been yvorking till' 1 o’clock in the mornings and on holidays. He had written a letter■:explaining the position; he could not do more, Mr. Justice-MacGregor asked what the assignee had to say. Mr. C. H, Weston: The D.O.A. doe* not want Mr. .Grey’s body nor his money in the form of,,a fine, but he does want these accounts. He wants something done. Mr. Grey: And I want to file them as quickly as possible. In reply to the judge Mr. Weston explained that the order was made on April 8 and served on September 13, and accounts were to be supplied within a month from that date. His Honour: I suppose he knew about it before service? Mr. Grey pointed out that negotiations had been going on all ..the time with a view to arriving at a settlement without the necessity of preparing accounts and the consequent taxing. Mr. Weston: He has had 2J months since the service of the order. His Honour; It is quite clear that this account must be filed and it is quite clear that it should have been filed before now. It seems to me it is a matter that should be settled before I leave New Plymouth and it would not be advisable for me to adjourn it for more than a week. Mr. Grey said ho had had to neglect the ordinary work of his office in order to prepare the accounts. Six typed copies had to be supplied and it would bo quite impossible, even if he worked at it throughout the week-end, to have the work completed and typed in a week. The judge reiterated that the details required should have been given long ago. He would adjourn the matter till next Saturday but not longer. Mr. Weston said he did not ask for ' costs on the adjournment. His Honour: It must be distinctly understood that these accounts must be filed by 10.15 a.m. this day week; otherwise an order will have to be made. Mr. Grey: Well, sir, I may say now, ‘ it can’t be done. His Honour: I have given my decision, I Mr. Grey. '