Wood v. Ho

Wood v. Ho

Because the solicitor failed to provide a timely, reasoned written analysis to overcome clear retainer/language misunderstandings and deprived the clients of counsel of their choice at trial, the registrar disallowed solicitor's fees, taxes and disbursements incurred from the first day of trial onward, reduced...

Source-derived case information.

Citation
2001 BCSC 705
Parties
Solicitor: Epstein Wood; Client: John Ho; Client: Quon Chow
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
11 May 2001
Procedural Posture
Solicitor's Bill Review (legal Profession Act) / Registrar Review (master Barber)
Outcome
Partial allowance of accounts; fees disallowed from first day of trial onwards; pre-trial fees allowed in reduced amounts; solicitor ordered to refund excess payments and clients awarded costs of the review.
Legal Topics
Contingency Fee, Retainer Agreement, Reasonable Fees, Right to Counsel of Choice, Costs Assessment, Qualified Privilege, Written Opinion to Client
Source Language
english
Legal Ethics Solicitor Client Billing Defamation Civil Procedure Contingency Fee Retainer Agreement Reasonable Fees Right to Counsel of Choice +3 more

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Parties

Epstein Wood

Solicitor

John Ho

Client

Quon Chow

Client

Procedural Posture

Solicitor's Bill Review (legal Profession Act) / Registrar Review (master Barber)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether solicitor's bills were excessive or improperly billed from start of trial
  2. 2 Whether solicitor failed to provide reasoned written advice to clients given language/retainer misunderstandings
  3. 3 Whether clients were deprived of counsel of their choice at trial (Irvin/Irvin Epstein, Q.C.)

Ratio Decidendi

Because the solicitor failed to provide a timely, reasoned written analysis to overcome clear retainer/language misunderstandings and deprived the clients of counsel of their choice at trial, the registrar disallowed solicitor's fees, taxes and disbursements incurred from the first day of trial onward, reduced pre-trial accounts to specified amounts and ordered a refund to the clients.

Court Disposition

Partial allowance of accounts; fees disallowed from first day of trial onwards; pre-trial fees allowed in reduced amounts; solicitor ordered to refund excess payments and clients awarded costs of the review.

Orders

  • Solicitor's fees, taxes and disbursements disallowed from first day of trial (October 18, 1999) onwards
  • Allowed fees and disbursements total $27,220.30