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'Unethical' Bahamas Lawyer Goes After Anna Nicole's Mother

posted by buckles 34 minutes ago view profile

Corruption-accused attorney and FNM candidate for Bamboo Town, Branville McCartney, is trying to extract $60,000 from Anna Nicole Smith's mother.

The mother of late celebrity Anna Nicole Smith is being sued for $60,000 by a questionably ethical, case-fixing Bahamian lawyer who is also running for Parliament in the upcoming general election.

Branville McCartney, head of the Halsbury Chambers law firm and FNM candidate for Bamboo Town, has filed a lawsuit against Virgie Arthur of Houston, Texas.

McCartney, who has been accused of charging outrageous amounts of money for doing shoddy legal work, is seeking to have Arthur declared bankrupt for failing to pay him some $60,000 in allegedly bogus legal fees.

The debtor's summons writ and supporting affidavit were served on Arthur as she left the Supreme Court building in downtown Nassau. Ms Arthur was leaving a closed chambers court session before Justice Stephen Isaacs.

Court papers filed by Halsbury Chambers allege that Anna Nicole's mother has failed to pay the outstanding $60,000 legal bill despite several requests sent to Arthur's new legal representative Debra Rose.

Halsbury's writ claims that Arthur signed a retainer agreement on February 12 for the firm to handle Arthur's custody and paternity court battle.

It is not know if Mr McCartney actually performed any work at all for Ms Arthur. Former clients of the disgraced lawyer claim he billed them for work he never performed, and also charged "obscene" amounts without documenting or justifying the reasons for his charges.

In a recent land dispute, McCartney is accused of botching the case even after making illegal and unethical arrangements with the acting magistrate to "fix" the case behind the scenes. The very dissatisfied client attempted to file a complaint with the Bahamas Bar Association, however, then president of the Bar and current Supreme Court Justice, Peter Maynard, another allegedly-corrupt Bahamian lawyer, refused to accept the complaint.

Ms Arthur is currently represented in the Bahamas by attorney Debra Rose, who was hired sometime before February 21st. Legal experts question how Mr McCartney could have performed $60,000 worth of legal work on such a small case, in such a short period of time (2/12 - 2/21) and apparently without ever having appeared in court for the client. It is understood that Ms Arthur dismissed Mr McCartney shortly after signing the retainer agreement and after possibly discovering that McCartney had a reputation for questionable ethics.

Another source close to the Anna Nicole Smith paternity case said that Mr McCartney may be being paid to file the bogus law suit against Ms Arthur in an attempt to damage her claims for the guardianship of Anna Nicole's daughter DannieLynn. The bankruptcy writ could rule Arthur out of the fight to win custody of the child.

A Bahamian political pundit claims McCartney's suit is a PR stunt designed to give the disgraced lawyer "headlines" prior to the upcoming election.

http://www.bahamasb2b.com/news/story.php?title=Unethical-Bahamas-Lawyer-Goes-After-Anna-Nicoles-Mother