Sadioura & Napoleon Law Corp Assessment
You work for the law firm of Sadioura & Napoleon Law Corp. Please refer to the Law Firm reference material for relevant information.
Today is June 5 (this year). Lisa has consulted Mitra Aspin regarding a motor vehicle accident she was involved in on February 19. You can assume for the purposes of this assignment that the accident occurred last year. This is the first time we have worked for this client.
On the day of the accident, Lisa was driving her car. At approximately 5:30 pm, Lisa was turning left from Dundas Street (eastbound) onto Nanaimo Street (northbound), where there is an advance left turn signal. (Look up the weather report for road conditions)
Lisa complains that she was struck with considerable force by a car owned by the J & S Dickie's Enterprises Ltd. ("Dickies") and driven by Randy Dandy ("Dandy"), who was traveling westbound on Dundas. Lisa says that Dandy, an employee of Dickies, appeared to have been drinking that day, and she believes he took the car he was driving without the permission of its owner, Dickies.
The police were called to the scene of the accident. Constable Adam Bachmann of VPD took the report. Lisa was taken by ambulance to the nearest hospital.
Belle Bingham, a waitress at Hooters Downtown, witnessed the MVA.
She
not only called 911, but also took a few photographs of the scene of the accident using her smart phone. Ms. Aspin plans to call Ms. Bingham as a witness for the plaintiff.
Ms. Bingham
lives at
2345 Dundas Street, Vancouver, BC V5L 1K2
Lisa also reported the accident to ICBC. Her ICBC adjuster is Brenda Milhouse, and her claim number is C74567587. Her claim is being handled by the ICBC Office at 456 5th Avenue West Vancouver, BC (604) 871-2300
Lisa says that she has suffered soft tissue type injuries that developed into persisting chronic pain syndrome, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, anxiety/panic disorder, depressive symptoms, post- traumatic stress disorder, thoracic outlet syndrome, and associated physical, emotional, and cognitive difficulties.
Lisa is a student at Capilano University. By all accounts, Lisa was a happy, intelligent, energetic, talented, and active young woman of sunny disposition, with an ambitious and outgoing personality. She grew up in West Vancouver, B.C., and she graduated from high school in 2017. She had been an accomplished swimmer, dancer, and gymnast, and had taught classes in both swimming and dance.
Now Lisa complains that her social life has declined dramatically. She tries to do things but fails. She is unable to keep up with household activities, and her fiancé Jimmy has taken most of these over.
She is unable to share recreational activities in which they used to participate. She is in a great deal of pain after a long day. She has woken up crying with her headaches.
Lisa is a part time waitress at The Boathouse. Although she keeps a game face on while working, it takes an enormous amount out of her. She tries to live her life as best she can but pays for it for days afterwards. She has never seen a pain-free day.
Required:
Open a client file for Lisa Smith with file no. MA/2345/YYYY-13 and gather client information (Use the matter form and the Questionnaire)
Prepare a retainer agreement
:
Lisa Smith has provided Ms. Aspin with the name of her doctor. Dr. Tupp, who is a general practitioner, has his office at 2169 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver, B.C. V6K 1N7. Dr. Tupp’s office number is 604-388- 7668.
Prepare a memo to File regarding the change in information
Prepare a letter for the Dr. Tupp requesting a report for Lisa Smith.
Today is July 15 (this year). Your letter to Dr. Tupp was sent three weeks ago, but you have not yet received the clinical. Your boss has asked you to follow up on your last letter.
Prepare the second letter for the Dr. Tupp.
Today is August 3 (this year). Write a letter to ICBC stating that we have received the clinical from the doctor and that a copy is enclosed. Mention in your letter that based on the medical evidence, Ms. Aspin is proceeding to file a lawsuit in the court.
Prepare the letter to ICBC.
Prepare your client’s Notice of Civil claim in Form 1.
Today is August 20 (this year). Donald Sweeney, a process server, who lives in
20303 Douglas Crescent,
Langley, BC V3A 8T4,
personally served Dandy at his home yesterday at 6:00 p.m. Donald doesn’t know Mr. Dandy personally, but Dandy showed Donald his B.C. Driver’s Licence, #4555601
Prepare an affidavit of personal service.
You received the response from opposing counsel yesterday, September 10. The parties having failed to agree have put the action to Trial.
Write a letter to the opposing counsel asking for their availability for trial and their estimate of the trial length.
Today is September 25 (this year). The parties have agreed on a trial start date of July 11 (next year). The estimated length of trial is 5 days.
Prepare the appropriate Notice of Trial.
Prepare list of documents from the plaintiff side.
Phone opposing counsel and set up Examinations for Discovery. The discovery should be only half a day for the Plaintiff and half a day for the Defendant. The Examinations for Discovery is set for October 7 (this year) at 10 am. The lawyers have agreed that discovery will be in one of the conference rooms at our firm. Record your conversations in either memo form or by handwritten notes and put it in the file.
Prepare a memo to file.
Prepare Form 23 – Appointment to examine for Discovery.
By letter, advise the client of all relevant information.
Today is January 4 (next year). Prepare a subpoena requesting Ms. Bingham to appear for a pre-trial examination on February 10 (next year) She will speak on behalf of the plaintiff. Ms. Bingham should bring the photographs and her smart phone to the pretrial examination.
Today is June 20 (next year). Ms. Aspin is ready for trial.
Prepare the trial certificate.
On August 13 (next year), Justice Sammy Smith sitting in the Vancouver Court ordered that the Defendant pays $150,000 to the Plaintiff with interest from the date of the accident and costs to be agreed or taxed in default.
Prepare the appropriate Court Order
Besides the fee, we will charge for the following disbursements:
-
Photocopies 573 @ $.25/ea.
Couriers 72 @ $2.95
Postage 58 letters at regular postage
Filing Fees $100.00
Agent Fees 4 @ $8.00
Motor Vehicle Search $8.00
Private Investigative Services $1200.00
Medical Opinion $1750.00
Bill of Costs on August 15 (next year)
Today is October 20 (next year). Dandy has sent us a certified cheque for the money that is owed to our client. You deposited the cheque into the trust account right away. It will take a week for the cheque to clear. Once the cheque has cleared, calculate the fees and disbursements that will be deducted from the amount that has to be sent out to the client. Prepare a payout cheque for the client.
Prepare a memo to file with the above information—mention the date when the cheque (after disbursement and fees are deducted) will be ready for pickup by Lisa Smith..
Prepare a cheque requisition
Send the client a letter (statement of Account) with the payout cheque, minus fees, and disbursements.
Close the file on September 25 (next year).
Supreme Court Civil Forms: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/law-crime-and-justice/courthouse- services/court-files-records/court-forms/civil_numerically.pdf
Interest Calculator:
http://mincovlaw.com/interest/calculate
