Syndicat Management Inc. v. Torkin Manes LLP
The court allowed the appeal, concluding the application judge erred by not treating the admitted 15% discount and the escrow agreement as special circumstances under Echo Energy; because the discount and escrow implicated the full sequence of accounts and there was no evidence of prejudice, leave was granted to...
Source-derived case information.
- Citation
- 2014 ONCA 230
- Parties
- Appellant: Syndicat Management Inc.; Appellant: Terradigm Developments Inc.; Appellant: Larry Krauss, in trust; Appellant: Black Inc.; Respondent: Torkin Manes LLP
- Court
- Court of Appeal for Ontario
- Jurisdiction
- Canada
- Judgment Date
- 26 March 2014
- Procedural Posture
- Collection / Appeal From Superior Court Application Judge Order
- Outcome
- Appeal allowed; decision of application judge set aside; leave granted to appellants to assess all accounts rendered by respondent; costs awarded to appellants.
- Legal Topics
- Special Circumstances, Escrow, Discount on Fees, Assessment of Accounts, Delay and Prejudice
- Source Language
- en
Source-derived case record
Summary, issues, holding and outcome
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Parties
Syndicat Management Inc.
Appellant
Terradigm Developments Inc.
Appellant
Larry Krauss, in trust
Appellant
Black Inc.
Appellant
Torkin Manes LLP
Respondent
Procedural Posture
Collection / Appeal From Superior Court Application Judge Order
Legal Issues
- 1 Whether special circumstances exist under Echo Energy to permit assessment of all accounts
- 2 Whether the respondent honoured an admitted 15% discount
- 3 Whether the existence of an escrow secures the disputed amount
Ratio Decidendi
The court allowed the appeal, concluding the application judge erred by not treating the admitted 15% discount and the escrow agreement as special circumstances under Echo Energy; because the discount and escrow implicated the full sequence of accounts and there was no evidence of prejudice, leave was granted to assess all accounts.
Court Disposition
Appeal allowed; decision of application judge set aside; leave granted to appellants to assess all accounts rendered by respondent; costs awarded to appellants.
Orders
- Appeal allowed
- Decision of the application judge set aside
Full Case Text
Judgment text and source record
1 paragraphs
Syndicat Management Inc. v. Torkin Manes LLP Collection Decisions of the Court of Appeal Date 2014-03-26 Neutral citation 2014 ONCA 230 Docket numbers C57848 Judges Watt, David; Lauwers, Peter D.; Benotto, Mary Lou Subject Civil Decision Content COURT OF APPEAL FOR ONTARIO CITATION: Syndicat Management Inc. v. Torkin Manes LLP, 2014 ONCA 230 DATE: 20140326 DOCKET: C57848 Watt, Lauwers and Benotto JJ.A. BETWEEN Syndicat Management Inc., Terradigm Developments Inc. Larry Krauss, in trust and Black Inc. Applicants (Appellants) and Torkin Manes LLP Respondent (Respondent in Appeal) James M. Wortzman, for the appellants Joshua Ginsberg, for the respondent Heard and released orally: March 21, 2014 On appeal from the order of Justice Kevin W. Whitaker of the Superior Court of Justice, dated October 24, 2013. ENDORSEMENT [1] In our view, the application judge erred in finding that there were no special circumstances within the meaning of this court’s decision in Echo Energy Canada Inc. v. Lenczner Slaght Royce Griffin LLP, 2010 ONCA 709. The application judge did not account for the admitted 15% discount to be given by the respondent to the appellants that the respondent may have failed to honour. Nor did he account for the existence of the escrow agreement that secured the amount in dispute. There is no evidence to support the application judge’s finding that the parties had “arrived at a resolution of these issues”. The delay referred to by the application judge was on both sides and is largely explained by the parties’ abortive negotiation efforts. There is no evidence of prejudice. [2] In our view, given the basic dispute over the promised discount, the final few accounts cannot be fairly assessed in isolation from the full sequence of accounts rendered by the respondent to the appellants. [3] The appeal is allowed. The decision of the application judge is set aside and leave granted to the appellants to assess all of the accounts rendered to them by the respondent law firm. [4] Costs to the appellant in the amount of $13,000, inclusive of disbursements and all applicable taxes. “David Watt J.A.” “P. Lauwers J.A.” “M.L. Benotto J.A.”