Swartzberg v. Wellander

Swartzberg v. Wellander

The registrar allowed the lawyer's bill in full because the time spent and $300/hour rate were reasonable under s.71 criteria, the lawyer's repeated court attendances and efforts to secure a stay were in the client's interest and produced some measurable benefit, but found special circumstances in the lawyer's failure to properly communicate the trial date and to effect a smooth transition of representation, therefore costs of the review were split and disbursements were disallowed.

Citation
2017 BCSC 148
Parties
Solicitor: Roy Swartzberg; Client: Jaycee Wellander
Court
Supreme Court of British Columbia
Jurisdiction
Canada
Judgment Date
11 January 2017
Procedural Posture
Lawyer Initiated Review Under the Legal Profession Act / Fee Certification/review
Outcome
Lawyer's bill allowed in full; certificate issued for $2,800; disbursements disallowed; each party to bear their own costs of the review
Legal Topics
Fee Certification, Costs, Communication of Trial Date, Transition of Representation
Source Language
English
Legal Profession Criminal Law Fee Certification Costs Communication of Trial Date Transition of Representation

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Parties

Roy Swartzberg

Solicitor

Jaycee Wellander

Client

Procedural Posture

Lawyer Initiated Review Under the Legal Profession Act / Fee Certification/review

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the lawyer's fees are reasonable and allowable under s.71 of the Legal Profession Act
  2. 2 Whether the lawyer properly notified client of the trial date
  3. 3 Whether special circumstances under s.72(2) exist to deny costs

Ratio Decidendi

The registrar allowed the lawyer's bill in full because the time spent and $300/hour rate were reasonable under s.71 criteria, the lawyer's repeated court attendances and efforts to secure a stay were in the client's interest and produced some measurable benefit, but found special circumstances in the lawyer's failure to properly communicate the trial date and to effect a smooth transition of representation, therefore costs of the review were split and disbursements were disallowed.

Court Disposition

Lawyer's bill allowed in full; certificate issued for $2,800; disbursements disallowed; each party to bear their own costs of the review

Orders

  • Certificate issued in the amount of $2,800 (fees $2,500 plus taxes $300)
  • Disbursements not allowed