Two members of the Law Society of Alberta, Grace George Akpan (Akpan) and Kenneth W. Kotyk (Kotyk), notarized documents that were identified as part of Organized Pseudolegal Commercial Argument (OPCA) schemes. These documents were filed in two separate Actions at the Alberta Court of King’s Bench. Proceedings were commenced to impose a penalty to Akpan and Kotyk, pursuant to Rule 10.49(1), for failing to comply with the Rules and Practice Notes in a way that interfered with the efficient administration of justice. Since the facts and legal issues in the two Actions were closely related, both Rule 10.49(1) proceedings were conducted together.

The Court noted the importance of these penalties, as lawyers continue to ignore the legislative, professional, and Court directions to discontinue and prohibit notarizing OPCA documents. The Court went on to state that nothing less will achieve the important objective of choking off OPCA schemes based on imaginary notary authority.

The Court concluded that Kotyk should be required to pay a $2,500 penalty. Such a significant amount was deemed appropriate because there were continued downstream consequences to his formalizing the OPCA documents. Though the Court acknowledged that Kotyk’s contribution was minor, the Court noted that, as a professional, saying “I only broke the rules a little” is not an excuse. Further, the Court noted that deterrence is important, as lawyers are continuing to engage in this behaviour.

Unlike Kotyk, Akpan was more involved in the OPCA scheme. She formalized documents that purported to terminate criminal proceedings, and that threatened Court staff. Akpan accepted fake OPCA ID as legally valid and importantly, the OPCA litigant relied upon Akpan’s notarized materials, and took further retaliatory steps on that basis, which interfered with the proper and efficient administration of justice. When provided the opportunity to make submissions, Akpan provided neither an excuse for her serious misconduct nor any argument to explain or justify her actions. Therefore, the Court ordered that Akpan pay a $10,000 penalty.