Anupam De’s (“Mr. De”) Application against Gopa De (“Mrs. De”) for severance of divorce from corollary relief was granted (“Initial Severance Judgment”). It was discovered that Mrs. De did not appear or respond to the Application due to her previous lawyer suffering personal circumstances which incapacitated her from practice. The Initial Severance Judgment was set aside, and the Application was re-heard, which resulted in the same outcome (“Final Severance Judgment”). Mr. and Mrs. De sought costs against Mrs. De’s former lawyer personally, and Mr. De sought costs for the Final Severance Judgment.

The Court noted that Rule 10.50 sets out when costs may be awarded against a lawyer personally. Mrs. De’s former lawyer agreed that she should be personally liable for the costs inflicted on Mr. De by virtue of her absence, which the Court agreed with. The Court also granted costs to Mr. De for his success in the Final Severance Judgment. However, the Court declined Mrs. De’s Application for Costs against her former lawyer, finding that there was no evidence that the amounts paid by Mrs. De were attributable to her former lawyer’s circumstance, and that any financial consequences of any defaults in the client relationship were better resolved in a forum where the inner workings between the lawyer and client were available as evidence.