A Smithers lawyer has been ordered to pay a former client $52,260 for breach of contract after he failed to launch a court action for spousal maintenance within the one-year time limit.
B.C. Supreme Court Justice Ron Tindale issued the order to Ian Lawson last week following a six-day trial held in Prince George in November.
According to a reasons for judgment, Lawson conceded he owed a duty of care to the client but argued he was only retained to negotiate a resolution to her spousal support and property issues.
He also argued the client never instructed him to bring an action until after the limitation period had ended and that, because she did not have the funds to pay for a hearing, she likely would not have taken the spousal maintenance issue to court.
But Tindale found that did not exonerate Lawson from the fact that he failed to protect the interests of his client.
Lawson "is an experienced family lawyer who did not take the appropriate precautions to diarize the one-year limitation," Tindale said.
"Once the limitation period had expired, the plaintiff had no leverage to bargain for spousal support and no ability to go to court if a settlement could not be reached."
Even if the retainer was only to negotiate a settlement, Lawson "cannot stand idly by as the plaintiff's right to go to court expires.
"At the very least, the defendant (Lawson) had a duty to warn the plaintiff of the limitation date which any competent family lawyer would have been aware of. The defendant did not take the simple steps of filing an application for spousal support or instructing the plaintiff to do this."
From the evidence received, Tindale found the woman was entitled to the equivalent of $800 per month for seven years, adding up to $67,200, less 20 per cent for income tax, for a total of $53,760 for the breach of contract.
A further $1,000 was added for mental stress while $2,500 was deducted for legal fees.
Different lawyers argued the case on behalf of Lawson and the client.
