Woman testifies that attorney cheated her out of N. Phila. property

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, June, 2009 | by Sam Wood Inquirer Staff Writer

A North Philadelphia woman testified yesterday that she was duped out of a valuable property in 1993 by her then-attorney, Willis W. Berry Jr., who was representing her in a slip-and-fall case. 

Denise Jackson said Berry, now a Common Pleas Court judge, tricked her into transferring a Girard Avenue property to him by having her sign dozens of documents without letting her read them. She filed a civil lawsuit alleging fraud.

The property, adjacent to Berry's law practice, had been deeded over to Jackson as part of the injury settlement.

But Jackson, in testimony before Common Pleas Court Judge Charles Smith, said Berry never told her that she actually owned the property in the first place. 

Jackson received a $1,500 settlement in the case. The same property...