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The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal seeking to set aside an order based on alleged solicitor negligence, holding that such claims require evidence of collusion.
The appellant appealed a judgment of the Superior Court of Justice dated November 8, 2016, challenging the motion judge's assessment of damages and raising allegations of negligence and dishonesty against the respondent's lawyer.
The Court of Appeal found no error in the motion judge's assessment of loss.
The court rejected the appellant's claims regarding solicitor negligence, noting that such claims raised in the context of an appeal can only succeed in the rarest of cases and would require evidence of collusion, which was absent here.
The court held that solicitor negligence claims are not the appropriate subject of an appeal and should be pursued through separate litigation against the lawyer.
A former solicitor was granted leave to intervene in an appeal alleging his negligence, waiving solicitor-client privilege.
A non-party former solicitor sought leave to intervene in an appeal where the defendant appellant was challenging a summary judgment order granting forfeiture of a deposit and costs, claiming the documentary record was incomplete due to the solicitor's negligence.
The Chief Justice of Ontario granted the intervention, finding that the interests of justice favoured a complete evidentiary record.
The court declared that the appellant had waived solicitor-client privilege with respect to the solicitor's file and communications pertaining to the matters in dispute.
