Z. Matthew Kaslik

The plaintiff brought an action for professional negligence against her former lawyers regarding their handling of a civil action.

The plaintiff moved for summary judgment, and the defendants cross-moved for summary judgment and to strike the claim as an abuse of process.

The court dismissed both summary judgment motions due to credibility issues and the need for expert evidence.

The court also dismissed the motion to strike, finding that the action was not a collateral attack on the assessment officer's costs decision, nor did the plaintiff's abandoned appeal of the underlying judgment preclude her from bringing a civil action for solicitor negligence.

The client appealed an Assessment Certificate and a Costs of Assessment Certificate issued by an Assessment Officer regarding unpaid legal fees.

The solicitor brought a motion to quash the appeal on jurisdictional grounds, arguing the client failed to seek leave to appeal costs and failed to file objections.

The court granted the client an extension of time to appeal the Assessment Certificate and dispensed with the objection requirement.

On the merits, the court found the Assessment Officer did not err in concluding the solicitor's requisition for assessment under s. 3(c) of the Solicitors Act was not time-barred, as the two-year limitation period under the Limitations Act applied.

The court also upheld the Assessment Officer's award of $39,000 in costs on a substantial indemnity basis to the self-represented solicitor.

The appeal was dismissed.