A judge has agreed to reassess the Robinson Huron Treaty legal fees after a court challenge by Atikameksheng Anishnawbek and Garden River First Nation questioned the $510 million charged by the legal team who handled the $10 billion treaty annuities’ case.
Chiefs of both First Nations, Gimaa Craig Nootchtai and Chief Karen Bell, respectively, filed a court challenge against the lawyers who represent the Robinson Huron Treaty Litigation Fund, Nahwegahbow Corbiere Genoodmagejig, stating that the cost should only be approximately $44 million.
The case was heard in Toronto on July 30 by Superior Court Justice Jana Steele. More than 1,000 people attended virtually as did approximately 100 in person.
Steele ruled that not only should the legal fees be reassessed, but that the assessment should be done by a judge.
“Given the magnitude of the legal fees and the fact that it is likely that there will be legal issues to be considered at the assessment, the assessment shall be done by the Court,” she wrote in her decision.
The two nations took issue with the fact that the lawyers who handled the treaty annuities case, which resulted in the $10-billion settlement that has been making its way into the 21 treaty communities along the North Shore, had not advised either the RHTLF or the 21 communities of their opportunity to seek independent legal advice.
Steele took issue with this. “I am concerned that given the significant number of beneficiaries under the Trust who are impacted by… (the) decision to pay the sizable partial contingency fee without any independent legal advice on the reasonableness of the fee, failure to have the Legal Fees reviewed by the Court may erode the public confidence in the administration of justice,” she wrote in her decision.
H. Michael Rosenberg, the lawyer for the two applicant First Nations, Atikameksheng Anishnawbek and Garden River First Nation, argued that not only were the nations deprived of independent legal counsel when deciding if the legal fees were fair, but he said the $10 billion annuities settlement is considered as a “mega fund class action,” which has clear rules under the law.
In his submissions, Rosenberg said that there is a formula for determining a fair and reasonable fee for a settlement “so large that it dwarfs the value of the lawyer's fees on an hourly rate basis,” he said.
Rosenberg told the court that fees on these mega fund settlements should be evaluated by the court according to established law, “intended to prevent lawyers from turning lawsuits into lottery tickets.”
Respondent counsel for the RHTLF, Peter Wardle and Evan Rankin, as well as counsel for the lawyers of Nahwegahbow Corbiere, Brian Gover and Dan Goudge.
They argued that not only is the price fair, but agreed to freely by the majority of the First Nations under the treaty: 19 of the 21 signatories.
A statement from Garden River First Nation and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek which was shared on social media calls the decision “a huge victory” because it could result in more settlement funds distributed to the Treaty nations.
“We are relieved and feel vindicated,” the statement reads. “Throughout this legal process, Atikameksheng and Garden River have always asked for transparency and accountability and today, we feel that justice has been served and will continue to be served.”
Justice Steele will convene a case conference with the parties on Nov. 6 to schedule next steps in the process.
Jenny Lamothe covers court for Sudbury.com
