A retired Fredericton lawyer is seeking more than $175,000 in costs after four charges against him were dropped in what's now an eight-year legal battle.
Shawn O'Toole was incredulous when the Law Society of New Brunswick's discipline panel awarded him $2,500 in legal costs after years of disciplinary proceedings against him.
He appealed to the New Brunswick Court of Appeal, which overturned the decision because the panel erred in its interpretation of the law.
A new panel will be struck to rehear the issue of costs.
O'Toole, 60, said it's a small victory in what's been an arduous journey that began in 2011.
"This matter has been the most stressful event that both myself and my family have ever had to live with," he said.
"I spent a lot money to battle over these things over the last eight years."
He is seeking full reimbursement of $176,427.08.
No case law
The Court of Appeal decision, which was released in detail in February, provided guidelines for the new panel to follow.
"There was no case law in New Brunswick about how to assess costs," said Marc Richard, executive director of the law society.
"The discipline committee established a standard, which is the one that was used in Ontario, I believe, and the Court of Appeal disagreed with that process."
Richard said a new three-person panel will be chosen from the 14-member disciplinary committee. A hearing date has not been set.
Fighting tooth and nail
In 2011, the law society initiated four charges against O'Toole after a client accused him of taking her name off a mortgage document and she didn't agree to it.
She claimed he signed a document as a witness when she wasn't there while working for a St. Stephen couple in 2008. O'Toole said the woman's claims proved to be not credible and the allegations were never proven.
It's standard in the law that when a party is successful in litigation they are awarded costs.- Shawn O'Toole, retired lawyer
O'Toole spent roughly five years fighting "tooth and nail" to prove his innocence.
Three of the charges were thrown out before his disciplinary hearing was held in 2015 because the society did not allow him to file a defence, he said.
The hearing proceeded with the fourth and main charge of signing as a witness. That charge was dismissed, but O'Toole was not awarded any costs.
"When I read the decision, I said, 'Well, what about legal costs?'" O'Toole said. "It's standard in the law that when a party is successful in litigation they are awarded costs."
Another hearing was held to examine the issue of costs, and he was awarded $2,500.
"Again, it was that 'Something can't be right,'" he said. "That cannot be correct."
O'Toole said the matter became long and costly after the law society's actions publicly challenged his integrity.
He's seeking solicitor-client costs, which means he would eligible for a full or near full reimbursement.
The Court of Appeal decision said solicitor-client costs are usually allowed when one party engages in "reprehensible, scandalous or outrageous conduct."
"The appellant's complaints of wrongdoing arguably rise to that level," the decision read, "whether they do in fact is for the new Panel to decide."