Kelly v. Law Society of Upper Canada, (2015) 331 O.A.C. 224 (DC)

• Judge: Sachs, Horkins and Gilmore, JJ.
• Court: Superior Court of Justice of Ontario (Canada)
• Case Date: February 06, 2015
• Jurisdiction: Ontario
• Citations: (2015), 331 O.A.C. 224 (DC);2015 ONSC 886

Kelly v. LSUC (2015), 331 O.A.C. 224 (DC)

MLB headnote and full text

Temp. Cite: [2015] O.A.C. TBEd. AP.015

Terence Austin Kelly (appellant) v. The Law Society of Upper Canada (respondent)

(251/14; 2015 ONSC 886)

Indexed As: Kelly v. Law Society of Upper Canada

Court of Ontario

Superior Court of Justice

Divisional Court

Sachs, Horkins and Gilmore, JJ.

February 6, 2015.

Summary:

A Law Society of Upper Canada Hearing Panel found a lawyer guilty of several charges of professional misconduct and ordered that his licence be revoked. The lawyer appealed. The Law Society Tribunal Appeal Division allowed the appeal by reversing two of the Hearing Panel's findings which involved the most serious charge of misconduct, namely misappropriation of client funds. The Appeal Tribunal, however, upheld the penalty of licence revocation. The lawyer appealed, arguing that the revocation should be set aside and a lesser penalty substituted in its place.

The Ontario Divisional Court dismissed the appeal.

Barristers and Solicitors - Topic 5304

Discipline - Disbarment - For professional misconduct - A law society Hearing Panel found a lawyer guilty of several charges of professional misconduct and revoked his licence - On appeal, the Appeal Tribunal reversed the Hearing Panel's findings respecting misappropriation of client funds (the most serious charge), but upheld the penalty of licence revocation - The lawyer appealed, arguing that the revocation should be set aside and a lesser penalty substituted in its place - He submitted that having dismissed the most serious charge against him the Appeal Tribunal erred in imposing the licence revocation and that the Tribunal unreasonably diminished evidence that he had been suffering from a severe depression at the time - The Ontario Divisional Court dismissed the appeal - The Appeal Tribunal's decision was reasonable.

Cases Noticed:

Ryan v. Law Society of New Brunswick, [2003] 1 S.C.R. 247; 302 N.R. 1; 257 N.B.R.(2d) 207; 674 A.P.R. 207; 2003 SCC 20, refd to. [para. 10].

Bishop v. Law Society of Upper Canada (2014), 325 O.A.C. 160; 2014 ONSC 5057, refd to. [para. 14].

Bolton v. Law Society, [1994] 1 W.L.R. 512 (C.A.), refd to. [para. 18].

Counsel:

Marie T. Henein, for the appellant;

Brendan J. Van Niejenhuis, for the respondent.

This appeal was heard in Toronto, Ontario, on February 6, 2015, before Sachs, Horkins and Gilmore, JJ., of the Ontario Divisional Court. The decision was delivered orally, for the court, by Sachs, J., on February 6, 2015, with written reasons released on February 27, 2015.