Divorce referee cannot recall grounds for Leeds divorce

February 2, 1930

The Associated Press reports today that Percy Stoddart, who was the referee "in the action which resulted in the granting of an interlocutory divorce yesterday to Princess Xenia of Russia," today told reporters that he could not remember "the grounds on which the divorce was sought." Mr. Stoddard said he was appointed as referee in late December or early January, and the hearings were held in his office in Mineola. His partner, Henry Uterhart, was Princess Xenia's counsel in her divorce petition against her husband, William B. Leeds.
Stoddard could not remember the number of hearings or "whether Mr. Leeds did or did not appear." Mrs. Leeds did appear in person to testify "but none of the testimony at the hearings remained in his memory."