Welder v. Serwa

Welder v. Serwa

The Registrar found most time entries were necessary and reasonable but concluded there was no agreement that Cliff Serwa would pay charges owed by the Friedrichs; accordingly $2,640 attributable to the Friedrich matter was disallowed and a previously conceded $35 posting error was credited, resulting in allowed accounts totalling $75,441.77. The Registrar also found unexplained discrepancies in trust transactions that must be addressed with the Law Society and calculated an outstanding balance of $10,097.64 owed to Mr. Welder.

Citation
2010 BCSC 262
Parties
Solicitor: Douglas W. Welder; Client: Clifford Serwa; Client: Lois Serwa; Opposing Party (underlying Litigation): City of Kelowna; Neighbouring Claimants/co‑litigants: Friedrich family; Agent for Clients: Brian Kane
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
2 March 2010
Procedural Posture
Legal Profession Act Review of Solicitor's Accounts and Trust Transactions / Final Reasons and Disposition by Registrar/master (review Hearing Concluded)
Outcome
Accounts allowed in part; reductions made for Friedrich‑related fees and a small posting error; trust irregularities to be explained to the Law Society; outstanding balance determined.
Legal Topics
Fee Dispute, Authorization to Bill Third Party, Trust Account Disbursement Irregularities, Settlement Distribution, Registrar Review of Accounts
Source Language
English
Legal Profession Costs and Fees Trust Accounting Property/expropriation Fee Dispute Authorization to Bill Third Party Trust Account Disbursement Irregularities Settlement Distribution +1 more

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Parties

Douglas W. Welder

Solicitor

Clifford Serwa

Client

Lois Serwa

Client

City of Kelowna

Opposing Party (underlying Litigation)

Friedrich family

Neighbouring Claimants/co‑litigants

Brian Kane

Agent for Clients

Procedural Posture

Legal Profession Act Review of Solicitor's Accounts and Trust Transactions / Final Reasons and Disposition by Registrar/master (review Hearing Concluded)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether solicitor was authorized to bill Serwas for work performed on the Friedrich file
  2. 2 Whether there was an agreement that Serwa would pay Friedrich's fees
  3. 3 Whether the time entries and amounts charged were necessary and reasonable

Ratio Decidendi

The Registrar found most time entries were necessary and reasonable but concluded there was no agreement that Cliff Serwa would pay charges owed by the Friedrichs; accordingly $2,640 attributable to the Friedrich matter was disallowed and a previously conceded $35 posting error was credited, resulting in allowed accounts totalling $75,441.77. The Registrar also found unexplained discrepancies in trust transactions that must be addressed with the Law Society and calculated an outstanding balance of $10,097.64 owed to Mr. Welder.

Court Disposition

Accounts allowed in part; reductions made for Friedrich‑related fees and a small posting error; trust irregularities to be explained to the Law Society; outstanding balance determined.

Orders

  • Allowed accounts in the total amount of $75,441.77
  • Deduct $2,640 from the accounts for amounts relating to the Friedrich matter