Kalo v. Law Society of Manitoba, (2014) 305 Man.R.(2d) 232 (QB)

• Judge: Toews, J.
• Court: Court of Queen's Bench of Manitoba (Canada)
• Case Date: May 30, 2014
• Jurisdiction: Manitoba
• Citations: (2014), 305 Man.R.(2d) 232 (QB);2014 MBQB 109

Kalo v. Man. Law Soc. (2014), 305 Man.R.(2d) 232 (QB)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2014] Man.R.(2d) TBEd. JN.019

Michael Kalo (applicant) v. The Law Society of Manitoba (respondent)

(CI 13-01-84092; 2014 MBQB 109)

Indexed As: Kalo v. Law Society of Manitoba

Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench

Winnipeg Centre

Toews, J.

May 30, 2014.

Summary:

The Law Society of Manitoba denied Kalo's application for admission as an articling student. An appeal panel dismissed his appeal. This was Kalo's third such application. On Kalo's application for judicial review, the Law Society sought an order for security for costs. Kalo asserted that he was impecunious.

A Master of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench, in a decision reported at (2014), 302 Man.R.(2d) 178, granted the Law Society's motion, ordering Kalo to pay $1,000 in security for costs within 120 days.

The Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench dismissed Kalo's application for judicial review.

Editor's Note: Previous decisions regarding these parties are reported at (2009), 245 Man.R.(2d) 240 (Q.B.), (2010), 255 Man.R.(2d) 1; 486 W.A.C. 1 (C.A.) and (2010), 258 Man.R.(2d) 13; 499 W.A.C. 13 (C.A.).

Administrative Law - Topic 2085

Natural justice - Constitution of board or tribunal (considerations incl. bias) - Acting in multiple roles or capacities - The Law Society of Manitoba denied Kalo's application for admission as an articling student on the basis that he had not rebutted the presumption that he was not a person of good character - This was Kalo's third such application - He appealed - On the second day of the appeal hearing, the panel indicated that it had learned that Kalo had filed material in bankruptcy court - Given the obligation of disclosure that Kalo had in his application, this was of concern to the panel - Kalo's counsel indicated that he was unaware of the filing - Kalo's appeal was dismissed - He applied for judicial review - The Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench dismissed the application - The court rejected Kalo's assertion that the appeal panel members were biased based on their respective positions with the Law Society - All three members were properly appointed in accordance with the Legal Profession Act and the rules - Since Kalo had not challenged the legislation, there was no basis on which to argue that the panel members' appointments constituted legal bias - See paragraphs 36 to 40.

Administrative Law - Topic 2088

Natural justice - Constitution of board or tribunal (considerations incl. bias) - Bias - Apprehension of - The Law Society of Manitoba denied Kalo's application for admission as an articling student on the basis that he had not rebutted the presumption that he was not a person of good character - This was Kalo's third such application - He appealed - On the second day of the appeal hearing, the panel indicated that it had learned that Kalo had filed material in bankruptcy court - Given the obligation of disclosure that Kalo had in his application, this was of concern to the panel - Kalo's counsel indicated that he was unaware of the filing - Kalo's appeal was dismissed - He applied for judicial review - The Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench dismissed the application - The fact that the appeal panel raised the bankruptcy matter did not give rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of the panel members - The matter was relevant to the hearing - Kalo and his counsel were given an opportunity to address it - See paragraphs 30 to 35.

Administrative Law - Topic 2266

Natural justice - The duty of fairness - What constitutes procedural fairness - The Law Society of Manitoba denied Kalo's application for admission as an articling student on the basis that he had not rebutted the presumption that he was not a person of good character - This was Kalo's third such application - He appealed - On the second day of the appeal hearing, the panel indicated that it had learned that Kalo had filed material in bankruptcy court - Given the obligation of disclosure that Kalo had in his application, this was of concern to the panel - Kalo's counsel indicated that he was unaware of the filing - Kalo's appeal was dismissed - He applied for judicial review and submitted a letter from his counsel at the appeal hearing which stated, "You may have mentioned the status of your student loans to me. ..." - The Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench dismissed the application - The appeal panel's inquiry regarding the bankruptcy filing did not give rise to a substantive finding of procedural impropriety or unfairness - The panel sought to determine why the matter had not been disclosed and it properly concluded that Kalo had failed regarding his duty to disclose - The letter was not before the appeal panel and did not form part of the record on the review - Therefore, it could not be relied on by Kalo or the court - See paragraphs 18 to 29.

Administrative Law - Topic 2609

Natural justice - Evidence and proof - Reliance on evidence not adduced by parties - [See Administrative Law - Topic 2266 ].

Administrative Law - Topic 3345.1

Judicial review - Practice - Evidence (incl. new evidence) - [See Administrative Law - Topic 2266 ].

Barristers and Solicitors - Topic 347

Admission to practice or as student-at-law - Qualifications - Good character and reputation - The Law Society of Manitoba denied Kalo's application for admission as an articling student on the basis that he had not rebutted the presumption that he was not a person of good character - An appeal panel dismissed his appeal - This was Kalo's third such application - The Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench dismissed Kalo's application for judicial review - The appeal panel concluded that Kalo still did not appreciate his obligations of disclosure to the Law Society, refused to accept responsibility for the many awards of costs that had been made against him in other proceedings and continued to demonstrate an attitude of disrespect for the legal system - Although there had been improvement in Kalo's attitude and behaviour, there had not been a sufficient passage of time to enable them to conclude that the improvement was sufficient to rebut the presumption to the contrary - The appeal panel's conclusions were based on its appreciation of the evidence before it - The decision was reasonable - See paragraphs 1 to 17.

Barristers and Solicitors - Topic 492

Admission to practice or as student-at-law - Judicial review or appeals - Standard of review - [See Barristers and Solicitors - Topic 347 ].

Cases Noticed:

New Brunswick (Board of Management) v. Dunsmuir, [2008] 1 S.C.R. 190; 372 N.R. 1; 329 N.B.R.(2d) 1; 844 A.P.R. 1; 2008 SCC 9, refd to. [para. 5].

Knight v. Board of Education of Indian Head School Division No. 19, [1990] 1 S.C.R. 653; 106 N.R. 17; 83 Sask.R. 81, refd to. [para. 8].

Kalo v. Human Rights Commission (Man.) (2008), 226 Man.R.(2d) 139; 2008 MBQB 92, refd to. [para. 32].

Counsel:

M. Kalo, was self-represented;

Leah C. Kosokowsky, for the respondent.

This application was heard by Toews, J., of the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench, Winnipeg Centre, who delivered the following judgment on May 30, 2014.