Gorin v. Flinn Merrick

Gorin v. Flinn Merrick Court Court of Appeal Date 1995-01-26 Citation 1995 NSCA 15 Docket CA 105385 Judge/Registrar/Adjudicator Hart, Gordon L.S. (Honourable Justice); Clarke, Lorne O. (Honourable Chief Justice); Matthews, Kenneth M., (Honourable Justice) Document Type Decision Decision Content C.A. No. 105385 NOVA SCOTIA COURT OF APPEAL Cite as: Gorin v. Flinn Merrick, 1995 NSCA 15 Clarke, C.J.N.S.; Hart and Matthews, JJ.A. BETWEEN: JACQUELINE C. GORIN (UMLAH) ) The Appellant in Person ) Appellant ) - and - ) ) Duncan R. Beveridge ) for the Respondent FLINN MERRICK ) ) Respondent ) Appeal Heard: ) January 26, 1995 ) ) ) Judgment Delivered: ) January 26, 1995 ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) THE COURT: Appeal dismissed from a decision concerning the taxation of a solicitor and client bill of costs, per oral reasons for judgment of Clarke, C.J.N.S., Hart and Matthews, JJ.A. concurring. The reasons for judgment of the Court were delivered orally by: CLARKE, C.J.N.S.: The circumstances that underlie this appeal relate to the taxation of a solicitor and client bill of costs. The appellant retained a solicitor in the respondent law firm respecting her claim for damages for injuries arising from a motor vehicle accident. The appellant accepted an out-of-court settlement negotiated by the solicitor, of approximately $154,000.00. The fee of the respondent including disbursements and GST was about $26,673.00. There was no written retainer. Later, after the solicitor/client relationship began to deteriorate, the appellant applied to the taxing master for a taxation of the bill of costs. The taxing master confirmed the bill of costs. He determined the appellant had been advised what the charges would be, had accepted the settlement based on those charges and that the amount was reasonable. The appellant appealed to the Supreme Court. The appeal was dismissed by Justice Stewart, without costs. The appellant now appeals to this Court alleging that Justice Stewart erred. Since the decision of Justice Stewart dated April 28, 1994 is now reported in (1994), 131 N.S.R. (2d) 55 and indexed as Gorin v. Flinn Merrick, reference can there be made to her findings and reasons for judgment. For this appeal to succeed it is necessary for the appellant to convince this Court that Justice Stewart misapprehended the evidence, made findings the evidence does not support or applied wrong principles of law to the conclusions she reached on the evidence before her. This is a reviewing Court and not one where the issues are retried. We have examined the record including the comprehensive decision of the trial judge. We have considered the arguments and submissions that have been advanced to this Court. We have concluded that Justice Stewart made no reversible errors in law. It is unfortunate that there was no written retainer setting forth all of the particulars of the methods being used to arrive at the solicitor's charges. We agree with the comment of Justice Stewart in the last paragraph of her decision. She wrote: ... I would, however, reiterate the strong desirability of a written retainer between the lawyer and the client with specific reference to the caselaw set out in Lindsay v. Stewart MacKeen & Covert, supra. However, the charges here have been found to be reasonable in the circumstances by both the Taxing Master and by Justice Stewart on the appeal. We find no basis upon which we can interfere with the decision and order of Justice Stewart. Accordingly the appeal is dismissed, without costs. C.J.N.S. Concurred in: Hart, J.A. Matthews, J.A. C.A. No. 105385 NOVA SCOTIA COURT OF APPEAL BETWEEN: JACQUELINE C. GORIN (UMLAH) ) ) Appellant ) - and - ) REASONS FOR ) JUDGMENT BY: FLINN MERRICK ) ) CLARKE, C.J.N.S. ) (Orally) Respondent ) ) ) ) ) ) )