An Ontario Superior Court has ruled that the city of Ontario must pay a lawyer nearly $200,000 in cellblock abuse case legal fees.
CBC News reported that the city was ordered by Justice Sylvia Corthorn to pay lawyer Lawrence Greenspon $181,000 – about $10,000 less than the amount the firm had originally billed.
In July 2017, Roxanne Carr was awarded $255,000, plus interest, for being wrongfully arrested and detained by police in 2008. Despite her award, her lawyer Greenspon has yet to receive his cut of the payout.
Ottawa claimed that Greenspon’s firm overcharged its legal fees from Carr’s nine-day trial by $56,500. Geoffrey Cantello, who was then serving as the city’s lawyer, did not oppose the amount awarded to Carr, but could not say the same about Greenspon’s rates. Cantello also questioned why Carr had to be attended by two lawyers during her deposition.
Following Corthorn’s judgement, Greenspon issued a response, saying that it was ridiculous that his firm was taken to court over the legal fees in the first place. According to him, the final cost of the bill from more than a year ago would have easily been more than $191,000, plus interest.
