Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-01
HUTCH|NS TRUSTEE
REMOVAL DENIED
Plea of Son of Late Publish
err to Gust Myer Cohen Is
Dismissed.

An effort to remove Myer Cohen as
Stilson Hutchins, multi-millionaire pub
Usher. met with failure in the District
Supreme Court yesterday, when Jus
tice Jennings Bailey refused the plea
of Walter Stilson Hutchins, son Of
the dead publisher, and Charles H
Merillat, his attorney. Justice Bailey
also dismissed the suit of Hutchins
and Merillat against William J. Dante
the dead publishers confidential man
and trustee. The plaintiffs sought tC
recover from Dante $4,000 which had
been paid to him as agent for the es
tate during 1925. charging that Dante
was not entitled to compensation, as
he shared in commissions on sales OF
Hutchins' real estate. Justice Bailey
held there was no evidence to support
the charge.
Cohen. as one of the trustees, repre-
sents Mrs. Mildred Rogers Penn.
granddaughter of Stilson Hutchins
and now the owner of one-half Of the
estate. The removal Of Cohen was
sought on the allegation that he had
exacted excessive insurance from the
purchasers Of Convention Hall when
it was sold by the Hutchins interests
in 1925 and had received fee as an
attorney for Zach NJ. Knott, a real
estate broker, in connection with the
latter's sale of the Highlands and
Westmoreland apartment houses. 1t
also was charged by the plaintiffs that
they were embarrassed in their efforts
to sell property of the estate because
Of the attitude Of real estate brokers
toward Cohen.
Charge Held Not Supported.
1t was held by Justice Bailey that
latter charge and that the evidence
showed Cohen was justified in the
insurance on Convention Hall for the
protection Of the estate, and that
while the estate was entitled to re.
ceive from Cohen the fee of $4,000
paid him by Knott, the evidence
showed that Cohen acted in good
faith in this transaction. In the light
OF these facts Justice Bailey ruled that
the petition for Cohen's removal
should be denied.
Frank J. Hogan and William G..
Johnson appeared for the defendants
and John E. Laskey. former United
States District attorney, represented
Merillat and Hutchins.
Cohen, Johnson and Hogan were
actively associated as counsel for Lee
Hutchins, who broke the will of his
father in the noted trial which lasted
from November, 1914, until April,
1915.
Twelve Years of Litigation.
Stilson Hutchins died in 1912, and
from that time until 1924 litigation
involving his estate was pending in
the courts of the District. During that
interval there were periods when as
many as half a dozen suits affecting
the Hutchins estate were pending at
the same time. In the trial just con.
cluded, it was shown that when
after a dozen years of litigation, the
controversies among the heirs were
settled, Hutchins' younger son, Lee
Hutchins, died within six months, and
his widow, Rose Healing Hutchins
died at her Massachusetts, avenue
home within a little more than a year
after she received any benefit from
the millions left by her husband.
Figures presented to the court yes
terday showed that the value of the
estate was $5,673. 709.72. Mergenthaler
Linotype and Riggs Bank stock was
valued at $4,000, while the remain
der of the estate consisted Of business
and apartment properties at Four
teenth and G streets recently acquired
by julius Garfinckel as a site for a
department store. The evidence show
ed that the Hutchins estate received
81 ,460 900 for the Fourteenth and G
streets site,