'Collateral attack': BC realtor loses after trying to sue regulator's lawyer
A BC Judge has found a Vancouver realtor's conduct "reprehensible" calling her claims in court "scandalous" and "frivolous" after the realtor tried to sue a lawyer who once represented an opposing side.
BC Supreme Court Justice Lisa Hamilton ordered realtor Vicky Wang to pay the lawyer special costs saying "it was clear" that Wang blamed the lawyer and wanted her "to pay" after she was disciplined by the real estate regulator.
"Ms. Wang has no difficulty throwing around serious allegations without any basis," Justice Hamilton said in the decision calling her claim an abuse of process.
Wang had wanted lawyer Catherine Davies to compensate her $1.5 million, after Davies represented the BC Financial Services Authority in action it took against the realtor over a conflict of interest matter several years earlier.
"It is a collateral attack on the BC Financial Services Authority's discipline proceeding... and it is an attack on another parties’ lawyer in the course of doing their job," the Justice said.
Wang's issues date back to 2016 when she loaned a client $50,000 so they could afford the deposit on a property in the Lower Mainland.
However, the client later complained to the BC Financial Services Authority which took action against Wang, fining her $5,000 and ordering her to pay $23,000 in costs.
Wang later appealed the regulator's ruling which was overturned due to a lack of procedural fairness.
She then attempted to sue the lawyer who represented BC Financial Services Authority in the initial complaint.
However, Justice Hamilton said Wang's claim was hopeless from the start.
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"The document fails to properly outline the issues of fact to be determined by the court... (it) fails to set out a concise or coherent statement of material facts," the Justice said. "The facts alleged... are instead lengthy, rambling, contain speculation and are difficult to follow."
The Justice said it was difficult, "if not impossible" to understand what factual issues the realtor wanted the court to determine.
In one of her "difficult to decipher" claims, Wang says stress can weaken immune systems which play a role in some types of cancer.
It is not clear what the statement is in reference to.
In the "long and repetitive" court document Wang claims Davies was "aggressive" and takes aim at minor errors the lawyer made during the proceedings calling them fabricated evidence.
Justice Hamilton said Davies' minor misstatements were not "by any stretch of the imagination" fabricated evidence and that it's clear Wang blamed Davies for being disciplined in the first place.
Justice Hamilton ruled that Wang's claims were "scandalous, frivolous and vexatious."
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"Ms. Wang... cannot sue Ms. Davies because they do not like the way she did her job or the outcome of the discipline hearing," Justice Hamilton said. "Davies cannot be held liable for doing her job."
The Justice ruled Wang's claim was a collateral attack on the regulator's discipline process and an abuse of the court’s process.
Ultimately, Justice Hamilton dismissed Wang's case and ordered to realtor to pay special costs. The decision doesn't say how much money the special costs were.
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