Norris Ward McKinnon v Skelton [2020] NZHC 1445

Norris Ward McKinnon v Skelton [2020] NZHC 1445

Summary judgment was granted in part for the plaintiff because the defendant lacked arguable defences to the bulk of the fees claim (including no arguable fiduciary breach and no credible oral fee-waiver); the LCRO decision did not preclude litigation of liability issues; however some allegations (failure to warn of the scale of costs exposure to the opposing party on the Queensland stay and certain pleading deficiencies causing the adjournment) raised arguable losses and set-offs which must proceed to trial or quantification, including an arguable AUD set-off of up to AUD 115,616.97 and wasted conferencing costs of NZD 10,499.08.

Citation
[2020] NZHC 1445
Parties
Plaintiff Law Firm: Norris Ward McKinnon; Defendant Client/kiwifruit Breeder: Donald Alfred Skelton
Court
High Court
Jurisdiction
New Zealand
Judgment Date
24 June 2020
Procedural Posture
Civil Litigation Recovery of Legal Fees and Related Counterclaims (negligence/contract) / Summary Judgment Application Decided (judgment Delivered 24 June 2020)
Outcome
Summary judgment entered for plaintiff Norris Ward McKinnon in part; judgment on defendant's counterclaims entered for plaintiff; specified set-offs and related claims reserved for trial or further quantification.
Legal Topics
Summary Judgment, Fees Recovery, Set Off, Retainer Termination, Claims Waiver, Choice of Forum/stay Application, Trans Tasman Proceedings, Lcro/standards Committee Decisions, Pleading Adequacy
Civil Procedure Professional Negligence Legal Ethics and Regulation Contract Law Costs Law Administrative/disciplinary Law Summary Judgment Fees Recovery +7 more

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Parties

Norris Ward McKinnon

Plaintiff Law Firm

Donald Alfred Skelton

Defendant Client/kiwifruit Breeder

Procedural Posture

Civil Litigation Recovery of Legal Fees and Related Counterclaims (negligence/contract) / Summary Judgment Application Decided (judgment Delivered 24 June 2020)

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Effect of LCRO decision on defendant's ability to dispute fees in court
  2. 2 Alleged negligent advice regarding prospects of stay in Queensland
  3. 3 Alleged failure to warn of costs exposure from the Queensland stay application

Ratio Decidendi

Summary judgment was granted in part for the plaintiff because the defendant lacked arguable defences to the bulk of the fees claim (including no arguable fiduciary breach and no credible oral fee-waiver); the LCRO decision did not preclude litigation of liability issues; however some allegations (failure to warn of the scale of costs exposure to the opposing party on the Queensland stay and certain pleading deficiencies causing the adjournment) raised arguable losses and set-offs which must proceed to trial or quantification, including an arguable AUD set-off of up to AUD 115,616.97 and wasted conferencing costs of NZD 10,499.08.

Court Disposition

Summary judgment entered for plaintiff Norris Ward McKinnon in part; judgment on defendant's counterclaims entered for plaintiff; specified set-offs and related claims reserved for trial or further quantification.

Orders

  • Judgment for plaintiff for NZD 277900.40 (the claimed NZD 297,961.98 less NZD 9,562.50 costs award and NZD 10,499.08 video conferencing) subject to deduction of: (a) NZD 41,059.15 and (b) the NZD equivalent of AUD 115,616.97 (conversion to NZD as at 20 November 2015);
  • Leave reserved to parties to apply if they cannot agree the NZD conversion for AUD 115,616.97