Aikmac Holdings Ltd. v. Loewen, (1993) 86 Man.R.(2d) 56 (QB)

• Judge: Schwartz, J.
• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba (Canada)
• Case Date: April 07, 1993
• Jurisdiction: Manitoba
• Citations: (1993), 86 Man.R.(2d) 56 (QB)

Aikmac Holdings Ltd. v. Loewen (1993), 86 Man.R.(2d) 56 (QB)

MLB headnote and full text

Aikmac Holdings Ltd. (plaintiff) v. Heidi Loewen (defendant)

(File No. CI 86-01-13191)

Heidi Loewen (plaintiff) v. John S. Lamont and Aikins, MacAulay & Thorvaldson (defendants)

(File No. CI 88-01-33254)

Indexed As: Aikmac Holdings Ltd. v. Loewen

Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench

Winnipeg Centre

Schwartz, J.

April 7, 1993.

Summary:

The assignee of a law firm's unpaid account sued a client to collect the lawyer's fees for representing her in a damages action. The client sued the law firm and the lawyer for damages for failing to properly plead and present her claim for damages. The actions were consolidated for trial.

The Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench granted judgment to the assignee for the amount of the account, less $100 nominal damages for the lawyer's failure to carry out the client's instructions to claim damages for psychological distress and lost future income.

Barristers and Solicitors - Topic 1552

Relationship with client - Duty to client - Duty to follow client's instructions - A lawyer disobeyed a client's instructions to claim damages for psychological distress and lost income - The lawyer believed the client's credibility would suffer by the evidence in support of the claims - The lawyer acted without discussing it with the client - The Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench held that the lawyer was liable for any resulting loss - No damages would have been awarded for psychological distress, but $12,000 would have been awarded for lost future income - The client received $101,000 at trial, but settled for $80,000 on appeal - The court awarded the client only nominal damages, where she would not have recovered the lost income from the original defendants - The client could only recover against the lawyer if she could have recovered against the original defendants.

Barristers and Solicitors - Topic 2663

Negligence - Damages - Measure of - [See Barristers and Solicitors - Topic 1552 ].

Damages - Topic 201

Entitlement - Requirement of loss - [See Barristers and Solicitors - Topic 1552 ].

Damages - Topic 1200

Nominal damages - General - [See Bar­risters and Solicitors - Topic 1552 ].

Cases Noticed:

Loewen v. Hanford Homes Ltd. et al. (1983), 23 Man.R.(2d) 131 (Q.B.), refd to. [para. 16].

Demarco v. Ungaro et al. (1979), 21 O.R.(2d) 673 (H.C.), refd to. [para. 80].

Melanson v. Cochrane (1985), 63 N.B.R.(2d) 91; 164 A.P.R. 91 (Q.B.), affd. 68 N.B.R.(2d) 370; 175 A.P.R. 370 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 122].

Islington Investments Ltd. v. Day, Ault and White (1978), 7 C.C.L.T. 46 (Ont. H.C.), refd to. [para. 122].

Page v. Barrister (1971), 3 N.B.R.(2d) 773; 20 D.L.R.(3d) 532 (C.A.), affd. 4 N.B.R.(2d) 645; 29 D.L.R.(3d) 386, refd to. [para. 122].

Sykes v. Midland Bank Executor & Trustee Co., [1970] 2 All E.R. 471; [1971] 1 Q.B. 113, refd to. [para. 132].

P.A. Wournell Contracting Ltd. v. Allen (1979), 35 N.S.R.(2d) 250; 62 A.P.R. 250; 100 D.L.R.(3d) 62 (T.D.), refd to. [para. 136].

Boros v. Bodnar, Wanhella and Courtney, [1988] 6 W.W.R. 645; 70 Sask.R. 36 (Q.B.), refd to. [para. 137].

Central Trust Co. v. Rafuse and Cordon, [1986] 2 S.C.R. 147; 69 N.R. 321; 75 N.S.R.(2d) 109; 186 A.P.R. 109; 37 C.C.L.T. 117; 42 R.P.R. 161; 31 D.L.R.(4th) 481; 34 B.L.R. 187, refd to. [para. 137].

Linsley v. Kirstiuk (1986), 28 D.L.R.(4th) 495 (B.C.S.C.), refd to. [para. 137].

Tracy v. Atkins (1979), 105 D.L.R.(3d) 632 (B.C.C.A.), refd to. [para. 137].

Saif Ali v. Sydney Mitchell & Co., [1980] A.C. 198, refd to. [para. 137].

Schlink v. Blackburn, [1992] 4 W.W.R. 251 (B.C.S.C.), refd to. [para. 137].

Workers' Compensation Board (Alta.) v. Riggins et al. (1990), 107 A.R. 314; 75 Alta. L.R.(2d) 13 (Q.B.), affd. 35 A.C.W.S.(3d) 622, refd to. [para. 137].

Thompson v. Zurich Insurance Co. (1984), 45 O.R.(2d) 744 (H.C.), refd to. [para. 142].

Abraham v. Wingate Properties Ltd., [1986] 1 W.W.R. 568; 36 Man.R.(2d) 264 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 177].

Authors and Works Noticed:

Chitty on Contracts (26th Ed. 1989), vol. 1, p. 1119, para. 1774 [para. 83].

Grant and Rothstein, Lawyers' Professional Liability (1989), p. 90 [para. 122].

O'Hagan, Cara-Marie, Remedies, in Rem­edies in Tort (L.D. Rainaldi, ed.), vol. 4, ch. 27, pp. 45, 46 [para. 82]; 47 [para. 145].

Orkin, Mark M., Legal Ethics (1957), p. 95 [para. 84].

Pitch, Harvin D., and Snyder, Ronald M., Damages for Breach of Contract (2nd Ed. 1989), pp. 4-13 [para. 139]; 4-19 [para. 142].

Rainaldi, Linda D., Professional Negli­gence, in Remedies in Tort (L.D. Rain­aldi, ed.), vol. 2, ch. 16, pp. 80, 81 [para. 82].

Counsel:

R.B. McNicol, Q.C., for Aikmac Holdings Ltd., John S. Lamont and Aikins, Mac­Aulay & Thorvaldson;

R.D. Raichura, Q.C., for Heidi Loewen.

This action was heard before Schwartz, J., of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench, Winnipeg Centre, who delivered the follow­ing judgment on April 7, 1993.

                                                                                               

Index

Paragraph

I Nature of Case 1

II Background 2-14

III The Basis of Ms. Loewen's Claim for Damages 14

IV Ms. Loewen's Defences to the Fee Claim 15

V Issues 15

VI Reasons for Judgment in the Hanford Homes Case 16-21

VII Findings of Credibility 22-36

VIII The Decision 37-50

IX Amplification of Reasons:

1. Judgment for Fees Allowed and Set-off 51-84

2. Reasons Why No Increase in Dam­ages 85-104

3. No Disentitlement to Fee 105-106

4. Appropriateness of Set-off 107

5. Fixed Fee Claim 108-110

6. Ms. Loewen's Consulting Fee 111-113

7. Deliberate Harm 114-117

8. Failure to Cooperate 118-121

9. Collectability of Hanford Judgment 122-134

10. The Law on Professional Negligence and

Aggravated Damages:

(a) Professional Negligence 135-138

(b) Aggravated and Punitive Damages 139-145

X The Medical Evidence 146-169

XI Loss of Income - Quantification 170-186

XII Interest and Costs 187-189