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regional wrap-up a rare case on champerty L ast November, a rare champerty case surfaced in Calgary. Champerty is defined as aiding in a lawsuit in return for a share in the pro- ceeds. In Wilkinson v. Stafford T. Gorsalitz Professional Corp., Stafford Gorsalitz rep- resented a husband in divorce and mat- rimonial property proceedings. At the time the lawyer was retained, the husband had been noted in default of defence. Subscribe today to Canadian Lawyer Canadian Lawyer is the ultimate source for today's legal professional. Keep up to date and informed by subscribing today for only $65 a year! Along with 11 issues packed with insights, trends and analysis, you'll also receive access to Canadian Lawyer's exclusive digital edition and digital edi- tion archives, available only to regis- tered subscribers. You'll stay up to date on breaking news between issues with Canadian Legal Newswire, our free weekly enewsletter that is edited by our legal reporting team. Paying it f orward o S t . 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L4G 3S9 Tel: (905) 727-0077 Fax: (905) 727-0017 Mail or fax this form to Canadian Lawyer CL_fullpageSUB.indd 1 12 FEBRU AR Y 2010 www. C ANADIAN Law ye rmag.com ng w elshe tice INDIA: A MODERN DAY SILK ROUTE P.36 hee No one and everyone is to blame for chaos and backlogs that the crim nmi al jjust ce s st are now endemic in the criminal justice system. haos anaos a bacnd cklogs that na ustice sy DOING $7.00 RAP RAP GST $7.00 Subscription Special see page 48 S b Sub see pa pa Sa Save bs summer 35% i ti S i l conviction that gives him the dubious honour of being the first lawyer in ealing the the The two lawyers engaged in settlement negotiations. The lawyer lost contact with his client, Douglas Ross Coyle, who sub- sequently died without a will. The hus- band and wife had never been divorced. Aleksandra Maria Coyle acquired most of the estate as designated beneficiary of her husband's retirement savings plans and pensions, and by reason of the Intestate Succession Act. Unknown to Gorsalitz, the husband had two adult sons from a previous mar- riage. With the consent of the sons, the wife was granted letters of administra- tion in respect of the husband's estate. The sons sued their father's lawyer. The essential allegation was that Gorsalitz was negligent in not taking steps to set aside the noting in default. The lawyer argued he owed no duties to the sons. The sons then took an assignment of whatever claim the deceased husband's estate may have had against the lawyer. The assignment was granted by the wife, in her capacity as estate administratrix. The sons amended their statement of claim to sue as assignees of the estate. In response, Gorsalitz said the assignment was champertous and should not form the basis of the suit. Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Justice D.K. Miller agreed. Miller said there are no Canadian deci- sions on the point. "The practice of assign- ing choses in action arising from legal negligence does tend to debase the very solicitor-client relationship. Authorities in the United States have consistently said this is to be discouraged because of the unique 'personal nature of legal services.' . . . I am persuaded that what has trans- pired . . . is a type of 'commoditization of legal malpractice' claim which should not be encouraged. This is truly an example of the evils of champerty." The judge essentially found the agree- ment between the sons and the adminis- tratrix to be champertous, with the result that Gorsalitz had a defence to the action. There are exceptions, and not all agree- ments involving assignments of claims 1/21/10 10:01:07 AM C r e i g h t o n o n t h e b e n c h • J u r y t amp e r i n g • Pa r e n t a l a l i e n a t i on s y n d r ome August 2009 $7.00 ASSEMBLY LINE iinvolved in he complex remodelling of Canada's's aut mo ve iomotive industry. 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