In re Williams, 49.

• Decision Date: 04 December 1941
• Docket Number: No. 49.,49.
• Citation: 23 A.2d 7
• Parties: In re WILLIAMS.
• Court: Maryland Court of Appeals

23 A.2d 7

In re WILLIAMS.

No. 49.

Court of Appeals of Maryland.

Dec. 4, 1941.

Appeal from Circuit Court, Dorchester County; Benj. A. Johnson, T. Sangston Insley and James M. Crockett, Judges.

Proceeding for the disbarment of John W. Williams. From an order disbarring respondent, he appeals.

Affirmed.

Argued before BOND, C. J., and SLOAN, DELAPLAINE, COLLINS, FORSYTHE, and MARBURY, JJ.

V. Calvin Trice, of Cambridge, for appellant.

Robert E. Clapp, Jr., Asst. Atty. Gen. (William C. Walsh, Atty. Gen., and Calvin Harrington, Jr., State's Atty., of Cambridge, on the brief), for prosecution.

COLLINS, Judge.

A decree was passed by the Circuit Court for Dorchester County in Equity, on July 8, 1940, granting a divorce a vinculo matrimonii to Myra Nancy Winterling from her husband, William F. Winterling. Among other provisions of this decree, the husband was ordered to pay $500 in cash to his wife and there was a further provision that counsel fees for the respective counsel in the case had been provided for in an agreement made by and between the parties on June 1, 1940. The wife, Myra Nancy Winterling, was represented by John W. Williams, appellant in this case, an attorney of Cambridge, Maryland, and the husband, William F. Winterling, was represented by attorney LeRoy L. Wallace of Cambridge, Maryland. Mr. Winterling paid this sum of $500 in two checks, one in the amount of $100 drawn to the order of John W. Williams, Attorney and Myra N. Winterling, and the other in the amount of $400, to the order of Myra N. Winterling. Sometime after the divorce, one of the sons of Mr. and Mrs. Winterling was killed in an automobile accident. The father and mother met at the funeral and Mr. Winterling asked his former wife whether she had ever received the $500 and Mrs. Winterling told him that she did not know anything about it.

On April 1, 1941, after Mr. and Mrs. Winterling had requested Mr. Williams to return the money to Mrs. Winterling, which he had not done, she filed a petition in the divorce case setting forth that this $500 had been paid in the two checks as aforesaid which were delivered to John W. Williams, that she endorsed the $100 check on the statement by Mr. Williams that it belonged to him as part of his fee for representing her in the divorce case, and she endorsed the $400 check when appellant informed her that the proceeds of this check were also to belong to him as part of his fee for representing her in the case. She also stated in her petition that the appellant did not inform her that he was receiving an additional fee of $250 from the husband for representing her in this case, which fee of $250 was paid to him by the husband with the distinct understanding that it was his entire fee. She asked the court to require Mr. Williams to pay to her said sum of $500 which he had unjustly withheld from her. Testimony was taken in open court on the petition, answer, and demurrers to the amended bill before the three Judges of the First Judicial Circuit of Maryland. The court passed an order on February 10, 1941, requiring the appellant to pay to the Clerk of the Court for Myra N. Winterling the said sum of $500 which the said John W. Williams wrongfully and improperly became in possession of, said payment to be made on or before February 26, 1941. No appeal was taken from that order.

On February 11, 1941, an order was filed on the petition docket of Dorchester County, signed by the three Judges, requiring John W. Williams "to be and appear in this Court on or before February 26, 1941, and within the same time to show cause, if any he has, why he should not be disbarred from practicing law in the State of Maryland, because (1) he unfairly, improperly and in violation of his duty to a client obtained from her the sum of $500.00 by falsely representing that said sum was paid by her husband in No. 6371 Chancery as a counsel fee to him, the said John W. Williams, well knowing at the same time (a) that the sum was paid by William F. Winterling under the decree of this Court and was intended not for himself, but for Myra Nancy Winterling, individually. (2) That by the means described in the preceding paragraph, he improperly, unlawfully and in violation of his duty to Myra Nancy Winterling, a client, who at that time was not indebted unto him in any sum whatsoever, obtained $500.00 by wilfully misrepresenting to her that such sum was paid by her husband to her as a counsel fee to him, the said Williams, whereas, in truth and in fact, he well knew that the said sum was payable to her individually in accordance with the decree of the Circuit Court for Dorchester County, in Equity, he at that time having already been compensated by the husband of Myra Nancy Winterling for all services rendered by him in her behalf." On February 24, 1941, the appellant, John W. Williams, filed an answer to said order which contained the following statements: "1. That he has heretofore paid into this Honorable Court, through the hands of its Clerk, the five hundred dollars ($500.00) for his client, Myra Nancy Winterling, as he has heretofore been commanded by this Honorable Court to do. 2. That he abjectly confesses his dereliction from his duty to his client, the said Myra Nancy Winterling, and his abuse of her confidence in him as her attorney, and his offense to the honor and dignity of this Honorable Court and to the good respect of its Bar, in his said conduct, but which he failed to realize at the time of the offense. 3. That he contritely prays this Honorable Court to so chasten him for his said conduct that he may thereby be purged of the effects of the same; but he prays that this Court, in such chastening punishment, not disbar him from the practice of his profession, and before any penalty is imposed, that he be heard in reference thereto." Among other papers filed in the disbarment proceedings on April 1, 1941, was the testimony taken on the petition in the divorce case to return the sum of $500, and order of court setting the cause for final hearing. The time of the hearing was continued to June 2, 1941, and on that date the appearance of Calvin Harrington, Jr., State's Attorney for Dorchester County, was entered for the prosecution. No testimony was offered by the appellant on June 2, 1941, and no objections made to the testimony previously filed in the disbarment case. On the same day the three Judges of the First Judicial Circuit passed an order disbarring John W. Williams from the practice of law in the State of Maryland and from that order the appeal is taken to this court.

Mrs. Winterling testified that through Mrs. Vivian Mann she met the appellant at Mrs. Mann's home in Cambridge in April, 1940, and engaged Mr. Williams to represent her in the divorce case against her husband. She told him that she had no way of paying him a fee herself and Mr. Williams told her that Mr. Winterling would pay the fee, that his charge would be $250, and that this was to be paid by Mr. Winterling. She further stated that she had an understanding with Mr. Williams that she was to pay no fee whatsoever. Mrs. Mann testified that the fee was to be $250. The appellant testified that no agreement as to any fee was made at that time with Mrs. Winterling but admitted that Mr. Winterling later agreed to pay him $250 as attorney for his wife and admits that Mr. Winterling paid this amount to him in addition to the $500 in controversy. He also admitted that he did not advise the court that he had received these two fees.

Mrs. Winterling further testified that the $100 check was endorsed by her in Mr. Williams' office as part of his fee and that the $400 check was brought to her at Easton, Maryland, in July, 1940, by Mr. Williams. She stated that Mr. Williams told her at that time that the check was made out to her, that it was his fee, and that Mr. Winterling had made it out that way so she could endorse it so it would appear that she had paid it. She stated that she did not know that she was to get this $500 from her husband. Mrs. Richard E. Manders of Talbot County, whom Mrs. Winterling was visiting at that time, testified that Mr. Williams presented the check-to Mrs. Winterling and Mrs. Winterling asked him why she should sign it and that he told her, "This is part of my fee, and Mr. Winterling wants it to go through as it was written." The appellant offered in evidence a paper signed by Mrs. Winterling on May 2, 1940, authorizing Mr. Williams to accept the property settlement, which paper contained a number of provisions, one of them being as follows: "Fourth: My husband is to pay $500 in cash, in addition to the above amounts, which $500 shall be your fee for services in this case, and you are not to charge any further or other fee against me in this case." Mrs. Winterling admitted her signature to this paper but said that she did not read it as she did not have her glasses with her, that Mr. Williams read part of the paper to her but not the part above quoted, did not give her a copy of it, and that she knew nothing about the $500. The paper is witnessed by LeRoy L. Wallace who testified that he did not see Mrs. Winterling sign it, but signed as witness shortly after Mrs. Winterling came out of Mr. Williams' office as he knew her signature. As to the trip to Easton, when he was accompanied by Mr. LeRoy Wallace, which was before the decree for divorce was signed, appellant testified that he handed Mrs. Winterling the $400 check, with other checks, and told her that it was the balance of the $500 item which, by the agreement, was to be his fee in the case, that the check was payable to her and...