Opinion ID: 2077880
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: eugene h. felter

Text: Eugene Felter, who lived at Norwalk, Ohio, was injured while employed by the Nickel Plate Railroad in 1947 and was taken to a hospital in Cleveland. After he returned to his parents' home, Oliver Zollicoffer called upon him. Felter testified that Zollicoffer showed him photostatic copies of checks, paper clippings, etc., pertaining to cases which respondent had and was handling; that Zollicoffer said he thought Felter's case was worth about $30,000; that respondent would give him a guarantee and make monthly advances until the case was settled; that Zollicoffer called again December 7, 1947; that he urged Felter to go to Chicago with him to see respondent and be examined by respondent's doctors; that Felter went to Chicago with Zollicoffer; that Zollicoffer took Felter to respondent's office and from there to Dr. Turner's office for examination; that thereupon they returned to respondent's office; that respondent talked with Dr. Turner by telephone and then told Felter that his case was worth from $30,000 to $35,000. Respondent wrote and signed a letter addressed to Eugene H. Felter dated December 8, 1947, providing for a one-third net retainer and a guaranteed net of $5000. On this occasion respondent also executed and delivered to Felter a $50 check as a monthly advance and Felter signed a retainer contract with respondent. Felter testified that respondent also told him that if he could get any cases for respondent that he, (Felter) would get the same percentage as respondent's men. To refute this testimony, respondent produced Michael James Gilmore of Youngstown, Ohio, who testified that he met Heirich in the summer of 1946 at Youngstown; that while en route to Chicago, Gilmore stopped at a gas station at Norwalk, Ohio, and met a man named Felter who was manager of the local Elks Club; that Felter told Gilmore how he had built up the Elks Club with slot machines; that he had a son who got hurt while working on the railroad; that the railroad did not seem to want to settle; that Felter asked Gilmore if he knew a good lawyer for that kind of a case; that Gilmore told him that he had been introduced to a lawyer from Chicago who got terrific verdicts from railroads and that his first name was Bruneau but that he had forgotten the last name; that Gilmore told Felter that he did not know for sure whether he could locate this man, but he would try to find him; that when Gilmore arrived in Chicago, he searched through the classified section of the telephone directory and the only lawyer with the first name of Bruneau he could find was the respondent, whom he called at his office and found to be his former acquaintance; that he thereupon went to Heirich's office and told him to get in touch with Felter at Norwalk, Ohio; that only the respondent was in the office at that time; that Gilmore never saw Felter again and never saw respondent again until requested to testify in this proceeding. The somewhat unusual testimony of the ubiquitous Gilmore, as well as the alleged meeting, was denied by the senior Felter.