A judge yesterday adjourned a request to put lawyer Larry Scott's business into administration over an unpaid debt of more than $100,000.

Mr. Scott owes former United Bermuda Party (UBP) Cabinet minister John Irving Pearman $113,639 arising out of a $100,000 loan from 1994.

Mr. Pearman asked Chief Justice Austin Ward to appoint an administrator to run Mr. Scott's affairs because he had run out of patience waiting for repayment, and because the lawyer had breached previous court orders to repay monthly sums.

But Mr. Justice Ward agreed to defer the matter until December, and ordered Mr. Scott in the meantime to pay all his Legal Aid cheques directly to Mr. Pearman's lawyer Delroy Duncan, and also other receivables.

The court heard the debt arose in 1994 when Mr. Scott took out two $50,000 overdrafts with Bank of N.T. Butterfield to start up his law firm in Somerset, but was unable to keep up with the payments.

Mr. Pearman, who acted as a guarantor, was then forced to take over the $100,000 debt

in 1994 when Mr. Scott, a former UBP Senator, defaulted on repayments.

Despite a number of court orders to repay money in installments, Mr. Scott had been in "prolonged and continued disobedience," which had driven Mr. Pearman to seek a receiving order, said Mr. Duncan.

Mr. Duncan said he asked his client if he could get together with Mr. Scott to make an arrangement to pay.

"Mr. Pearman's position is that when he doesn't execute strong relief based on court orders he gets no money, and when he does, he can hope that someone might assist Mr. Scott, but he cannot continue to do nothing and get very little money," said Mr. Duncan.

A receiving order, in which an administrator would take over Mr. Scott's financial affairs, would still allow him to continue practising as a lawyer, added Mr. Duncan.

Mr. Scott told the court he was not running away from the debt and had every intention of repaying it all.

"I have always said to the plaintiff (Mr. Pearman) it was never my intention to wilfully disregard the sums owed," said Mr. Scott. "I never ran away from it, I have always admitted it, and it was always my intention to pay.

"The great difficulty when raising funds is that when I go to a reputable lending institution, a bank, they say if I can't repay the plaintiff, `how can we lend you money?'."

He said when he accepted an earlier court order to repay Mr. Pearman $3,000 every month, he knew he would not be able to comply, but agreed because the plaintiff's lawyers had insisted on that sum. He had hoped to get that reduced to $1,500 per month because he could meet those payments.

Mr. Scott said he had paid small sums back, but most times he found he needed the cash he received from clients to run his one man business with one member of staff.

Mr. Scott said at one point he wanted to close his business and join the Department of Public Prosecutions (DPP), but was told he was inexperienced.

He said he was later told by an MP that because of his previous political involvement in the UBP "it's not your turn mate".