Legal Blog

Action to Collect Lawyer’s Fees

Gilbert’s LLP v. David Dixon Inc. 2017 Ont Div Ct

Law firm sued in Superior Court to collect account. Application judge dismissed the application holding that a lawyer had no right to commence an action under section 23 of the Solicitors Act unless there was a bona fide dispute as to the terms or effect of the written retainer agreement. The Divisional Court noted that the Solicitors Act was outdated and convoluted and that the Ministry of the Attorney General had under resourced the assessment process. The Divisional Court held that the law firm was entitled to commence an action to enforce a simple or usual written fee agreement, particularly one in which there is no dispute as to the terms of the retainer agreement or the outstanding account. The Court noted that this right was always subject to the client’s right to apply for an assessment of the account under section 3 of the Act.

Written by Jonathan Speigel Jonathan Speigel, the founding partner of Speigel Nichols Fox LLP, leads the litigation and construction practices.