Alexa Lillian Sulzenko

Former clients applied under the Solicitors Act to have legal accounts rendered by their former law firm assessed after paying more than $300,000 in fees and disbursements.

The respondent law firm argued the application was barred by the 12‑month limitation in s. 4 of the Solicitors Act, that the accounts had been paid, and that the application constituted an abuse of process.

The court held that commencing an application within 12 months preserves the right to assessment and that, in any event, the two‑year limitation under the Limitations Act may apply.

The court found “special circumstances” under s. 11, including the unexpectedly large fees, the pressure to promptly pay accounts, and the clients’ limited understanding of their right to challenge the bills.

However, because the clients had previously represented certain work as reasonable when seeking costs before another judge, those portions of the accounts were excluded from review.

The remaining portions of the accounts were referred for assessment.

Following the dismissal of a proposed class action certification motion and the dismissal of claims against one defendant for failure to disclose a reasonable cause of action, the court determined the appropriate costs awards.

The defendants sought substantial partial indemnity costs for successfully resisting certification and for obtaining dismissal of the claim against the diocesan defendant.

The plaintiffs and the Class Proceedings Fund argued for reductions based on public interest, access to justice concerns, and alleged unnecessary litigation steps.

The court rejected arguments for a public interest or access-to-justice discount and confirmed that the ordinary rule that costs follow the event applies in class proceedings.

The Grenville defendants were awarded their full claimed costs, while the diocesan defendant’s claim was reduced as excessive.