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Indexed as:

Law Society of British Columbia v. Currie

IN THE MATTER OF the Legal Profession Act
AND IN THE MATTER OF a Hearing concerning
Jay Ferguson Elliot Currie, Vancouver, B.C., a member of
the Law Society of British Columbia
Called to the Bar: August 1, 1986
Ceased membership: December 31, 1993
[1994] L.S.D.D. No. 123
Law Society of British Columbia
Discipline Hearing Panel
B.B. Trevino, S.A. Moore and P.D. Warner
May 16, 1994
English keywords: Charges: 1550 E Misappropriation -- Of client's funds. Decision/Verdict: 2530 E
Professional misconduct. Penalties: 3180 E Disbarment -- Indefinite disbarment. 3160 E Costs -Reimbursement of Law Society costs -- $ 2,500.
Mots-cls franais: Plaintes: 960 F Dtournement -- De fonds du client. Dcision/Verdict: 2530 F
Inconduite professionnelle. Sanctions: 3220 F Radiation -- Radiation indfinie. 3130 F Cots -Remboursement des cots du Barreau -- 2 500 $.
Summary:
The member misappropriated $2,800 of trust funds that were provided to him by a client to
incorporate a company for her. The member's conduct constitutes professional misconduct, and the
hearing panel ordered that he be disbarred.
Facts: In October, 1990, the member was retained to incorporate a company.
The member received from the client payments of $200 and $1,000 in November, 1990, $350 in
March, 1991, $300 on May 22, 1991 and $300 on June 28, 1991. The client gave these funds to the
member in trust to be used as a retainer for services and for disbursements on the incorporation.
The member did not deposit any of this money into his trust account. He deposited at least some
payments to his personal account, and he put all the money to personal use.

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The member took instructions for incorporation of the client's company, but he did no] submit any
documents to the Registrar of Companies and disbursed no funds for the incorporation.
From time to time, the client asked the member for a progress report and the reasons for the delay.
The member knowingly misled the client to believe that he had submitted documents and disbursed
funds for the incorporation. He also misled the client into believing that the Registrar of Companies
was responsible for the delay. The member misled the client so as to:
-1
-2
-3

conceal the fact that he had not disbursed funds for the incorporation, but
had put these to his personal use;
conceal the fact that funds given to him as a retainer for services had been
put to his personal use though he had not performed the services; and
induce the client to provide further funds, which the member represented
would be used to make a fresh application for incorporation, purportedly
necessary because of the Registrar's delay.

In July, 1991, the member received $650 from the client as a retainer for services and for
disbursements to make a fresh application. From August, 1991 through April, 1992, the member
again misled the client into believing the Registrar was responsible for delaying the incorporation.
He did so to conceal the fact he had not performed any services or made any disbursements for the
incorporation, but had put the money to his personal use.
The member's procrastination and active deception had serious financial and social consequences
for the client. In April, 1992, she formally discharged the member.
The member never repaid the $2,800 of trust money that he had taken from the client. Following the
discipline hearing, the Law Society advised the client of her right to apply for compensation from
the Special Compensation Fund.
On a different complaint, the member failed to reply to various communications sent by the Law
Society between April 30,1993 and September, 1993.
***
Mr. Currie voluntarily ceased membership in the Law Society at the end of 1993.
Decision: The hearing panel found, and the member admitted, that his conduct constitutes
professional misconduct.
Penalty:

1. 1
2. 1

The panel ordered that the member:

be disbarred;
pay $2,500 as costs of the discipline proceeding.

Appearances:
J.S. Mackoff, for the Law Society.
The member appearing on his own behalf.

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.......

Hearing Panel Report

FACTS
Personal service of the Citation was admitted by Mr. Currie.
The following facts were also agreed to and admitted:
1. 1
2. 1
3. 1

The Member (now a former Member) was engaged by the Complainant, Marnie
Jennings-Burtenshaw in October 1990 to incorporate a company on her behalf to be
known as "The Jennings Institute for Performing Artists".
He was formally discharged from this engagement on April 15, 1992 without having
succeeded in incorporating the company.
During this interval of time the Member received the following payments from the
Complainant as evidenced by his own general synoptic:

November 5, 1990
May 22, 1991
June 28, 1991
July 10, 1991
4. 1

During this interval of time the Member received the following cash payments from the
Complainant:

November 1990
March 1991
5. 1

$ 200.00
300.00
300.00
650.00

$1,000.00
350.00

None of these payments was deposited into the Member's trust account; all were dealt
with by him personally, at least some being deposited into his personal account.
6. 1 These funds were delivered to the Member expressly for fees and disbursements in
connection with the proposed incorporation of the company and on the understanding
that they would be put into trust until they were needed.
7. 1 The Complainant required the company to be incorporated in sufficient time to issue
shares to those investing with her and have government approval for a school which
was to acquire leasehold premises and commence operations in September 1991.
8. 1 No funds were ever disbursed by the Member for incorporation of the company.
9. 1 The Member never submitted documents to the Registrar of Companies for
incorporation of the company.
10. 1 The Member's efforts at most amounted to taking instructions for incorporation of the
company.
11. 1 Though he purported to have taken funds from the Complainant on account of services
rendered and disbursements made, the Member never rendered an account for such.

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12. 1 From time to time during the Members' engagement the Complainant enquired of the
Member as to the progress being made on the incorporation and the cause for delay.
The Member knowingly misled the Complainant to believe:
(a) 1 that he had submitted documents and disbursed incorporation fees to the
Registrar of Companies following the Member's initial engagement, then
again in July 1991 and again in December 1991; and
(b) 1 that the source of delay in the company being incorporated lay with the
Registrar of Companies.
13. 1 In about July 1991 the Member misled the Complainant to believe that he had
forwarded incorporation documents to the Registrar and disbursed sums to incorporate
the company. He then took further funds from her representing these would be used for
a fresh application to incorporate the company. This was needed because of the
Registrar's delay.
14. 1 The Member's motive in misleading the Complainant into believing that the delays all
lay with the Registrar of Companies:
1

during the period April through July 1991 was

(a) 2 to conceal the fact that the funds which had originally been given him to
disburse for the incorporation had not been disbursed for that purpose but
for his personal use;
(b) 2 to conceal the fact that funds which had originally been given to him as a
retainer for his services had been put to his personal use though the
services had not been performed;
(c) 1 to induce the Complainant in July 1991 to provide the Member further
funds to disburse for a fresh application for the incorporation and as a
retainer for his services to be performed;
During the period August 1991 through April 1992 was
(d) 1 to conceal the fact that the funds given him in July 1991 to disburse for the
incorporation had not been disbursed for that purpose but for his personal
use, and
(e) 1 to conceal the fact that the funds given him in July 1991 as a retainer for
his services had been put to his personal use though the services had not
been performed.

15. 1 Regarding the complaint of Terence Hayes, the Member repeatedly failed to reply to
communications from the Law Society between April 30, 1993 and September 1993
after which the matter was referred to the Discipline Committee. The Member has
never responded to these enquiries.
16. 1 The Member ceased to be a member on December 31, 1993.
17. 1 Funds paid by the Complaint Marnie Jennings-Burtenshaw to the former Member have
not been repaid by Mr. Currie to the Complainant.

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The Complainant Marnie Jennings-Burtenshaw testified before us. It was clear from her testimony,
which we accept in its entirety, that Mr. Currie's procrastination and active deception had serious
financial and social consequences for the Complainant far beyond the total of $2,800 paid to the
former Member for which the Complainant received virtually nothing.
Notwithstanding her experience with Mr. Currie, Ms. Jennings-Burtenshaw testified entirely
without rancour and in fact
exhibited considerable sympathy for the former Member.
VERDICT
Mr. Currie admitted that the facts which had been admitted constituted professional misconduct on
his part and we so find.
PENALTY
Pursuant to Section 45 of the Legal Profession Act, the former Member is disbarred forthwith.
Mr. Currie's failure to cooperate with the Law Society in its investigation and in preparation for the
hearing resulted in further cost and expense to the Law Society and its members and has
inconvenienced several people who were present at the hearing as potential witnesses.
We order costs of the hearing to be paid, such costs not to exceed $2,500.00.
Publication of an appropriate summary of this decision will be made in the normal course.
Shona A. Moore
Peter D. Warner
Benjamin B. Trevino, Q.C. (Chair)