Legal Problems
Many of Lawson's patents were not as defining as he had hoped, and from 1901 a series of legal cases saw the value in his holdings eroded. Lawson's patent rights were subsequently eroded through successful lawsuits by the Automobile Mutual Protective Association. In 1904 Lawson was tried in court for fraudulently obtaining money from his shareholders and, after representing himself in court, he was found guilty and sentenced to one year's hard labour.
Lawson was completely out of the automobile industry by 1908 and disappeared from the public gaze for some years.
He reappeared as a director of the Blériot Manufacturing Aircraft Company Ltd., the English branch of Louis Blériot's aircraft company. Lawson secretly acquired control of the company just before a public subscription to help expand its war effort. But the company soon found itself in breach of its contract with Blériot. When this came to light, the company was wound up and its director found guilty of fraud and dishonesty.
He retired from the public gaze and died at his home in Harrow, London in 1925.
Read more about this topic: Harry John Lawson
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