Opinion
CIVIL ACTION NO. 00-5004
August 29, 2002
MEMORANDUM ORDER
The court entered an order on August 1, 2002 authorizing the Clerk to make arrangements to receive through First Union National Bank of Philadelphia $2,750,000 from an account of defendant Marshland at the Investors Bank Trust Limited on Dominica in the West Indies. These funds constitute a portion of the sum defendant Mason obtained from plaintiff by misrepresentation and were traced by plaintiff directly to the Marshland account in Dominica. Marshland is controlled solely by defendant Mason who is in defiance of a court order to effect a return of these funds to plaintiff.
The order was entered at the behest of Marcia G. Shein, an attorney in Decatur, Georgia, who contacted the court's deputy clerk. Although she has never entered an appearance of record, Ms. Shein advised that she is now representing defendant Mason and that he has decided to return this money.
Ms. Shein represented that the funds would be transferred on August 9 or August 12, 2002 to the account established by the Clerk at First Union. This did not occur.
On August 23, 2002, Ms. Shein telefaxed to the court a copy of what appears to be an unsigned and undated letter from defendant Mason to Investors Bank Trust requesting a wire transfer of the funds in the Marshland account. The request is not to transfer the funds to the account established by the Clerk at First Union at the routing number provided to counsel in the August 1st order, but rather to an account in the name of Marshland at Sovereign Bank.
During proceedings related to the court's order directing defendant Mason to restore the funds received from plaintiff, he offered assurances that the funds would be received imminently. They were not. To the contrary, plaintiff presented documentary evidence showing that defendant Mason alienated and attempted to secrete funds at that time.
Whether Mr. Mason has earnestly decided to return these funds or is again maneuvering for some perceived advantage is unclear. It does appear, however, that contrary to the representations of Ms. Shein, Mr. Mason has taken no steps to transfer these funds to the control of the Clerk of Court through a procedure set in place at the request of Ms. Shein with the order of August 1, 2002. The court will not require the Clerk to maintain his arrangement with First Union indefinitely.
ACCORDINGLY, this day of August, 2002, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Marcia G. Shein, Esq. shall by September 11, 2002 enter an appearance for defendants or file a document executed by defendant Mason authorizing her to represent defendants in connection with the transfer of funds from Dominica and provide a written explanation of why no request has been made for a transfer of the funds in Dominica to the account established by the Clerk for this purpose at her request with the reasons, if any, why the Clerk should be required further to maintain the account.