The Statesman.
London, England, 1814-11-11 00:00:00

inkvoiLtY v. LEWIR'i: AIMCNC"

. Sir A. Ptorsotr posed for an order on the .De.
Students, the, Assignees under a Commission of
Bankrupt which had been sued nut against Mr. Lewis,. •
on attoritey, under the description of a money-sari. •
eerier, to deliver up to the Plaintiff certain des
and papers. which he hsd deposited in the hands of
. Mr. Lewis, as his solicitor. The Plaintiff had been
'5 parte in as action in *which an order was mad*
upon hies to pay into Court the sum of 50001. This
-sum he remitted to his solicitor, Mr. Leafs, to be by
paid,,lloGpurt on the Plaintiff's account. Mr.
Lewis gate`-tite'Plaintiff reason to understand th;t
-the money had been paid into Court .accordingly ;
but an his subsequently absconding, and a commis-
sion ef. bankrupt being taken out against him, it was
discovered that he had applied the sum in question,
along with various other sums belonging to other
clients, to his own purposes. The Plaintiff was accord-
ing compelled to pay this sam of 50001. a second
time, and had now paid it into Court. When he
came, however, to demand that his deeds and papers
which he had 'lodged with Mr. Lewis should be deli-.
Meted up to him, to his extreme surprise this demand
errs resisted on the part of the Assignees, although
fhey•could not be ignorant how grossly the Plaintiff
had beei, injuretiand defrauded by Mr. Lewis whom
they•represented.. The only' ground on which the
Plaintiff could conceive that the Defendants built
their refusal to deliver up the papers, was the . idea
01 smut right of lien which they might suppose they
bad upon them, for any balance of an account of
buslitees done by Lewis for the- Plaintiff. tf this
was the ground on which the Assignees built their
right 'of retention of the Plaintiff's papers, he (4ir
A. Pi,gutt) had no doubt that his 'Lordship would
quick!) convince them of their error; would teach
them that they could be in no better situation than
Lrivitwould hive. beef' in had he been present, and
how solvent ; and that as he could only have been
entitled to.a.iien upon the papers, in the event ai
there being a balance due to him, so the Assignees
must skew that the account of business done by
Lewis far the Plaintiff exceeded this sum of 50001.
entrusted:lo 'shies for a specific purpose, and which
be had:fraudulently appropriated to oats use, be-
fore they
:could set op any valid or effectual lien on
the Plaintiff's deeds and papers.
Sir S. ROM ILLY for the Aspignees I admitted that
Sir Arthur Pikgott was lorrett in his conjecture, a;
to the ground on which 'the lisaignees under Mr.
I.es is's commission, claimed a right to retain the
'Plaintiff's papers. They. were adsised that they bad.
a lien on those papers, to the amount ft( theAccottet-
of business done by Mr. Leiria for the Plaintiff; that:
the Plaintiff' was bound to pay. the amount of this ac-
count before his papers were delivered. up to bine;
and that as-to this s'e thousand pounds, the Plaintiff'
must in revert of it, come in as a Creditor upon the
estates of Mr. Lett:ispalong with the other Creditors
who had. been defrauded by him. The Assignees.,
besides. did not cenc'eive.thetnselves warranted atpre.
lent in delivering..np these deeds and papers, even
were they satisfieditt their own minds that the Plaiu-
tiff was entitled to tAire them delivered up. A peti-
tion had been presedted, praying to have the cOm.
eniesi;,ii superseded, on 'the ground that, under the
auilitisity of a recent decision of his Lordship, artiat.
tome,- or solicitor'wei not, tinder the description 4
money-scrivener, subject Utile bankrupt laws. Ills