The San Francisco call., 1908-12-03
|MOXFY IS FIGHTING
|LAWYFRFOR$2
Physical Culture Instructor Who
Married Mrs. Gage Phillips
Demands Accounting
Testifies That E. c. Chapman
Collected S46,993 in COM
promise and Kept Money


Oliver N. Moxey, the young physical
culture Instructor who attained great
notoriety some years ago through lltl-
cation following his marriage to Mrs
Gage Phillips, wealthy woman twice
his age, and her settlement upon him
of property worth s250.000. is now
fighting for the $4,000 remnant OF the
quarter of a million he once had within
his grasp. His suit against r. e.
Chapman, formerly his attorney, for an
accounting, came up for trial IN Judge
Seawell's court yesterday.
Moxey says that after the compro-
mise with Mrs. Moxey's relatives, under
which he agreed to take 80 per cent
of the s250,000 worth of property con-
veyed to him by his elderly wife, 40
per cent going to Mrs. Moxey and the
remaining 80 per cent to the Boston
relatives. Chapman went to Boston and
collected $46.993 belonging to Moxey
and retained it all. Only $500 is due
Chapman and Attorney A. A. Moore FOR
their services, Moxey claims, and after
other legal fees had been accounted
Tor there would be $2S,0O0 coming 10
him from Chapman. The defense OF
chapman is that in three trips to Bos-
ton and In the local courts he rendered
services worth $36,250 and incurred
expenses amounting to $7,9sS-
CHILDREN BROUGHT SUIT
1t was in 1902 that Moxey was made
defendant in a suit instituted by Mrs.
II. H. Vaudeville and other children of
Mrs Moxey to set aside the deed of
conveyance upon the ground that
Moxey had practiced fraud upon the
woman who became his wife. In
lengthy hearing before Judge Coffey
Mrs Moxey was declared incompetent,
her son in law, H. l.. Vaudeville, be-
ing declared her guardian. Subse
ouently, however, after the litigation
had been compromised, Mrs. Moxey was
restored to competency. She is now
living in Boston. Her young husband
is at present employed as streetcar
conductor in San Francisco, but says
there is no breach with his wife and
that he will rejoin her as soon as the
pending action with Chapman is ended.
The testimony of Moxey yesterday
and of Attorneys William Thomas.
Stephen V. Costello. F. S. oliver and
A. A. Moore was that the fee agreed
upon between Chapman and Moxey was
$500. According to Moxey, in the
first place he agreed to pay Chapman
and Moore $4,000, but after the COM
promise that agreement was destroyed
in Chapmans office and a new one,
fixing the fee at $500, was substi-
tuted
The most interesting testimony yes
terday was that of A. A. Moore. who
said that for all the work he had done
in the case he had not received cent.
and that he had employed an attorney
to sue Chapman for his share. In
fact, Moore said he was out of pocket.
having at different times advanced
about $3.50 to Chapman in connection
with the litigation. Moore said that
after the settlement with the eastern
relatives he heard that all the legal
fees were to be Slapped up TO Moxey,
and he then said to Chapman that IL
the $4,000 agreement were insisted
upon 1T would ruin Moxey.
WHAT MOORE SAYS
'"The matter was discussed between
Chapman and myself, and it was agreed
that we should charge him only $780,
said Moore. Later ] told Chapman
that, considering how little Moxey was
going to get out of the settlement we
ought to be satisfied with $4,000. Chap
man would not agree to this, and said
we ought to get at least as much as
the lawyers for Mrs. Moxey and for
the Boston relatives"
Chapman took the stand and insisted
positively that his agreement with
Moxey and Mrs. Moxey was that he
was to get $4,000 for his services in
having the wife restored to compe- |
tency and in fighting the claims of |
other lawyers against Moxey for fees |
He told in detail Of the three trips he |
made to Boston for Moxey, all of which |
he said was outside the contract and |
was worth at least $105OO
There were several warm exchanges |
between ID. M. Duffy, attorney for |
Moxey, and o. #. Meldin, who appeared |
for Chapman. during the proceedings |
The trial went over to this morning |