The appellant law firm, UL Lawyers Professional Corporation, appealed a Superior Court decision denying their request for a solicitor's lien against settlement proceeds.
The firm had represented the respondent client in motor vehicle litigation before being discharged.
The application judge found two of the three criteria for a charging order met but concluded there was no evidence the client would not pay.
The Court of Appeal found that the application judge erred in relying on an ambiguous undertaking and that a subsequent $5,000,000 lawsuit filed by the client against the firm provided sufficient "some evidence" that the client would not pay.
The appeal was allowed, and the firm was granted a solicitor's lien for $73,195.75 plus costs.
