Facts

This case focuses on a dispute between Betty and Tom Walker and their three children, Lila, Will, and Ellis. Betty and Tom owned several tracts of land in Alberta, including three parcels of farmland where they lived. Their son Will had also been made the registered owner of these three parcels. Lila was made an owner of only one parcel, the “family home parcel,” where their home was located.

In 2006, Ellis spoke with his family about being added to the title of the three parcels of land. His parents, sister, and brother would all need to execute documents adding him to the title of each parcel. Despite a verbal agreement that he would become a co-owner of the land, his brother Will refused to execute the documents. Seeing conflict brewing, Tom Walker hired a lawyer, Laura Simon, to represent him in adding his son to the title for each of the three parcels. Betty, Will, and Lila retained their own lawyer, Terry Harris.

Simon and Harris negotiated a settlement with the family in early 2007 that allowed Will, Betty, and Lila to each retain their quarter interest in the family home parcel. Tom would share his quarter interest in the family home parcel as joint tenants with his son Ellis; when Tom died Ellis would inherit the entire quarter interest. Lila was added as a quarter owner to parcel two, and Tom agreed again to share his quarter interest in parcel two with Ellis also as joint tenants. Ellis was not added to the title for parcel three.

Simon sent the agreement to Harris for his clients to sign, and then Harris sent the document back to Simon for her clients’ signatures. Tom Walker signed the documents but Ellis Walker did not. About two weeks later, Simon sent revised documents to Harris for their signatures. The new agreement modified Ellis's quarter share: instead of holding the interest with his father as joint tenants, they held the interest as tenants in common, each holding one-eighth interest in the entire property. At Tom's death, Ellis would no longer have had any claim to his father's one-eighth interest in the property. Ellis was not informed of this change and it is unclear why it occurred.

Simon was responsible for submitting the executed documents to the title registry.