El Nuevo mexicano., 1916-07-06
ON UNJUST
FEES AND TRIED TO
M|SLEAD THE COURTS
AMONG ACCUSATIONS
SENSATIONAL ALLEGATIONS ARE
MADE BY BAR EXAMINERS I'M
PROCEEDINGS HAVING IN VIEW
DlS1ARMENT OF ATTORNEYS
MARION AND WOOD.

iWTR@ - 6EFt AFRnHNFN-NAR ~
PROCEEDINGS HAVING IN VIEW
DlsRARMENT or ATTORNEYS
MARION AND WOOD.
That they insisted upon fees to
which they were not justly entitled,
and attempted to mislead the courts,
are among the charges Of unprofes-
sional conduct made against Attor-
neys Owen N. Marion and Francis y.
Wood of Albuquerque by the COM
mittee of Albuquerque lawyers APP
pointed by Judge Reynolds, and the
state board OF bar examiners. AS
announced, these charges were filed
with Attorney General Clancy by the
bar examiners Saturday afternoon, as
a preliminary to the preparation Of
a formal accusation to be presented
to the supreme court as the first
step in general disbarment proceeds
ings. A summary of the eight charges
prepared by the Albuquerque COM
mittee follows:
In August, 1912, while appearing as
attorney for w 2. Emerson in the
case of the Charles Chadwick Co. VS..
Emerson, Wood is accused of having
concealed a certain contract, mater
iaI TO the determination of the Isl
sues, under a blotter in the office
of the district court, and of having
stated later in court that the con-
tract was not in his possession.
In the libel suit of Mrs. A. S. Av-
cry against the Albuquerque Jour
nal, wherein 1t was agreed that Mar
ron & Wood should receive one-half
of the proceeds of the action, it is
alleged that Marion. after the case
was compromised for $1,750, repre-
scented to his client that her alleged
unwillingness to go to trial had AUS
ed the firm to lose a substantial fee,
and that under the circumstances 1t
was her duty to pay the firm $1,450
Of the $1,750, and that after she pro-
tested that the lawyers were entitled
to only one-half of the sum secured,
or 1875, Marion finally settled with
her for $3.50, the firm retaining $1,000.
In the divorce suit of Anna M. Ed
gar against William Edgar, Marion
appeared as attorney for Mrs. Edgar,
and after receiving $500 for his SER
vices from the defendant, in full set
Element, under an agreement with
the defendants attorney, Thomas N.
Wilkerson, it is alleged that he made
a demand on Mrs. Edgar for $500
additional, and attempted to collect
from her that amount.
The fourth, fifth and sixth charges
formulated by the committee of AL
buquerque attorneys deal with de-
tails of the Garcia case, which CON
stituted the charges brought against
Marion & Wood in the federal dis.
trict court, and which resulted in
their suspension for two years by
Judge Pope. The seventh charge
deals with the case of Ernest Meyers
VS.. the Meyers Co., in which Judge
Reynolds held that fraud had been
practiced on the court, and which
caused him to suspend Attorney Wood
from practice in the second judicial
district.
The eighth charge of the Albuquer-
que committee is based on the allega-
ton that Marion & Wood, as attor-
neys for w. j. johnson in a suit to
collect 5000 from the Brick com
pany, concealed from Judge q. T..
Medler, sitting for Judge Reynolds
during the latter's absence, facts in
connection with a default judgment
entered against the defendant by
Judge Reynolds. The defendant com
pany had failed to answer, demur or
plead within the time allowed by law,
and the default judgment was grant
ed for the express purpose of fore
ing the defendant to come into court,
and with the understanding that the
same would be set aside upon appli-
cation or motion by the company.
When the motion to set aside the
judgment was filed Judge Medler- was
called upon to hear it, and Marion &
Wood, it is asserted, attempted to
resist the setting aside of the judg-
ment, contrary to the understanding
and agreement with Judge Reynolds.
The three charges formulated by
the state board of bar examiners fol
low:
That in the Edgar divorce case
Marion secured from the defendant
the ~exorbitant fee Of $500 for his
services as attorney for the plain
tiff, Mrs. Edgar, by giving him the
impression that in the event that
sum was not paid criminal proceed
ings would be brought against Edgar
under the white slave act.
That in the case of Garcia VS.. Ma
zon, Marion & Wood made false rep
reservations to the court regarding
the amount of a claim against the
estate of Leopoldo Macon, and at
tempted to mislead the court.
That Marion & Wood, represent
ing Mrs. Belle Prairie in a damage
suit brought against the A. T. & S. F.
railway in behalf Of her child, re-
fused to settle with Mrs. Prairie after
settlement had been made by the de-
PENDANT on the ground that the bond
given by her as guardian was insult
ficient, and failed to inform her how
she could obtain possession of the
money; also that they failed to de-
duct from the one-third which it was
agreed they should receive as a fee
the sum of $40 received as attorneys'
fees from the clerk of the U. s. dis
trict court, and that certain expenses
were unjustly charged against the !
case. K
HA8EAs CORPUS GRANTED !