The respondents retained the appellant solicitor to act for them in a tort action arising from a motor vehicle accident.
The action was settled, and the solicitor transferred funds from trust to pay his fees, sending a brief account to the respondents.
Five years later, the respondents applied for an assessment of the bill.
The application judge ordered the assessment, finding the bill lacked sufficient particularity to qualify as a bill under s. 11 of the Solicitors Act.
The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal, holding that s. 11 applied and precluded the assessment because the application was made more than 12 months after payment.
The Court found that a generalized bill is still a bill for the purposes of s. 11, and it was unreasonable to order an assessment years later for a sophisticated client who had condoned the payment.
