J. Vale

The plaintiff in a solicitor's negligence action brought a motion for leave to amend her statement of claim to add allegations of litigation misconduct against the defendants' counsel.

The proposed amendments related to the removal of labels from boxes containing the plaintiff's files before they were delivered.

The court dismissed the motion, finding that the proposed amendments did not arise from the same factual matrix as the original claim and did not disclose a legally tenable cause of action for litigation misconduct.

The court also noted the motion appeared to be brought primarily for tactical reasons to bolster a separate motion to remove the defendants' counsel.

On a summary judgment motion, the defendants sought dismissal of a claim alleging solicitor-client duties, conflict of interest, and misuse of confidential information in the plaintiff's employment termination and settlement negotiations.

The court held there was no genuine issue requiring a trial because the evidentiary record did not establish a personal solicitor-client relationship between the lawyer defendant and the plaintiff, whose corporation had been the retainer client.

The court further held that, even if a conflict had existed, the plaintiff had waived it by inaction and by executing broad releases with independent legal advice.

The court also found no evidentiary foundation for economic duress or for the claimed damages and rejected disgorgement as an appropriate remedy on the record.

Summary judgment was granted to the defendants without costs.