[5] The store was at the centre of a notorious legal case, where an employee who had been sacked for theft sued Moss Samuel Solomon for trespass, malicious prosecution, false imprisonment, and dismissal without proper notice, all through vindictiveness because he, Louis Meyers, had married a gentile.
Solomon was however able to prove that Meyers had sold to an associate, goods of a certain type at the price of a lower class, as wedding gifts to himself, and making false entries in the ledger.
[7] In the early evening of Tuesday 31 October 1871, shortly after the proprietor left the building, smoke was seen to be issuing from the Nimble Ninepence; the brigade was called, and the mayor, who was passing by, sent for M. J. Solomon.
At the inquest it was found that the gas pipes to both shops had been turned off, no lamps had been lit, and no-one had been smoking, so an open verdict was reached.
The insurance company paid up promptly, and the owners did not quibble with their payout, reportedly saying "Better a nimble ninepence than a slow shilling".