The plaintiff, the Estate of Henry Goldentuler, sought damages against the defendants for intentional wrongful interference with commercial relations and breaches of trust/fiduciary duty, arising from the defendants' surreptitious removal of client files from Goldentuler's law office.
The defendants' statement of defence and counterclaim had been struck due to their failure to pay costs and repeated administrative dismissals of their appeals.
The court conducted an assessment of damages, considering expert evidence on lost fees and disbursements.
The court found the defendants breached their duties of loyalty and good faith.
Damages were calculated by applying a contingency factor for files that might not have settled (1/3 reduction) and a 44% reduction for overhead expenses, then a 50% reduction based on the original fee-splitting arrangement.
The court declined to award punitive damages for litigation delay, deeming it compensable by costs.
