Philipsburg:--- The Court of First Instance was busy on Tuesday morning. On the upper floor of the Court House the murder trial of the Kings was taking place, but downstairs several persons attended court for civil procedures. One of those persons who appeared in court on Tuesday morning is former secretary to several Lt. Governors on the island who was convicted last year in the BTA scandal, Evelyn Hodge.
SMN News learnt that Attorney at Law Cor Merx filed a civil case against Evelyn Hodge for nonpayment of legal fees. Hodge was arrested in 2011 during the BTA investigation. She spent 15 days behind bar and was later convicted in May 2012 for forgery and fraud.
According to information reaching SMN News, Cor Merx presented Hodge with a bill exceeding $13,000.00 for representing her while she was arrested and for representation during the criminal proceedings in 2012. SMN News learnt from reliable sources that Hodge paid part of the bill because she could not pay the entire sum. A source said Hodge made clear to Merx that she could not pay that amount of monies for legal fees but Merx kept adding more monies to the bill claiming he worked hard on the case even though Hodge was convicted.
While the civil case was filed by Attorney at Law Cor Merx, Attorney at Law Edwin Maduru represented Merx on Tuesday. The case has been postponed to 15th May 2013. The judge took the files from both parties. Hodge represented herself on Tuesday.