 Lawson's patent rights were subsequently eroded through successful lawsuits by Automobile Mutual Protective Association.In 1904 Lawson, along with Ernest Terah Hooley, 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.