The Portland daily press., 1897-03-04
PAYING THE FIDDLER.
Those Who Dance Legally Liable for
Legal Music.

So Say Lawyers Haley and Hamilton Oh
Biddeford Who Claim $4,000 from
Heirs of Luther Bryant of Biddeiofo-
Case Is Before Judges Whitehouse ana
Strout as Referees, and Defense Is
General Denial and Claim of Over
charges.
When lawyer meets lawyer in trial al
law before lawyers for services at Id"
and advice at law rendered heirs at law
it may fairly be observed "then Gomez
the tug of war; or law. or either OF
both. Such case is now in hearing pe'
fore Justices Whitehouse and Strout 10
the Supreme court chambers yesterday
and will be continued today.
If the late Luther Bryant of Biddelora'
the old [gentleman OF large means, peou-
liar traits and odd habits could nav
known before his cath what web r.,
legal technicalities, injunctions, restrlc
tions, attachments, suits and petlbions
which was to commence almost as SOON
as his obseguies ended and was 10 No
woven in and out and over the Roio anu
silver, bills and notes, bonds and stocRs'
personal and real estate of his eartnly
possession, he would either have droppeu
dead from nervous shook OF he "ouiu
have lived long enough to so dlsp ose Vi
the wealth he loved SO well, as to pre-
clude an unseenly scramble Tor lts
possession and prevent big chunks OF 1t
ever being fed in fat fees to those VINO
guided the scram bIers.
Had he anticipated the long chain OF
legal fights for his sheckles that mas neen
forging In the courts ever since the relent-
less hand of death snatohed 1t from his
grasp, he would have sunk 1T In the
bottom of the sea before he would have
left dollar of 1t to furnish ammunition
for legal batteries from the sounds OF
whose guns he positively shrank. Hard
ly a session Of the Supreme courts In
York county since the death OF the
abstemlous man Of wealth has been
without it's Bryant suit while the Pro-
bate court at Alfred has been facetiously
dubbed the .off1ce Of Bryant estate. .
The suit yesterday is suit brought
against the administrators of the Bryant
estate for professional services rendered
him from the time of Mr.. Bryant's de-
cease in June, "a, to July 18th, 1896, by
lawyers George F. Haley and Judge
Charles H. Hamilton for sum, aproxi-
mate1y $1,000 each or over $14, 900 in all.
The TWO cases are tried as one, it being
admitted that the same questions OF fact
and law are involved.
The defence ia general Issue, alleged
overcharge, and it was apparent from tn
line of questioning followed by the coun
sci for the defense yesterday That it will
be additionally urged that most Of the
services for which remuner alton is asked
in the suits named, was rendered prior to
the time of the appointment of the de.
fendants' as administrators, and before
they had any standing in law or right to
create debt for the estate or heirs at law.
Judge J. W. Symonds is for the de-
PENDANTS, r. Jordan and g. r. Goodwin.
administrators, while the plaintiffs
interest are cared for by Judge j. O.
Bradbury of Saoo.
Among the heirs of the Bryant estate
present yesterday, vera Marcia A. Bailey,
Frederic Yates, Minnie Hall, John Shay
and Charles Hatch. Clerk of Courts
Hewey of Alfred, is also in attendance.
The witness yesterday was Lawyer
Haley, who set forth in detail the facts
of the claim as outlined above.