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July 09, 2022 – 7:00 PM







A B.C. lawyer who charged a mentally unwell shopper $1 million and then took his full workplace on getaway to Las Vegas has been disbarred for the next time in his occupation.

Victoria-based mostly lawyer Peter Darren Steven Hart was also requested to spend $60,000 to the Regulation Culture of B.C. to cover its expenditures in the investigations.

In accordance to a June 29 Regulation Modern society of B.C. decision, Hart charged this mentally ill shopper $1.127 million in a a long time-previous divorce scenario which remaining his customer economically destitute.

“(Hart) provided an abysmal high-quality of service, unsuccessful to act with honesty and candour and pressured his shopper into getting into into an unfair and unethical contingency fee,” the conclusion reads. “He chose to betray and mislead a susceptible consumer who he understood to be struggling from a mental health issues. (Hart) disregarded (her) recommendations, lied to his shopper, and acted exclusively for his possess personal economical reward. In addition to forcing his shopper to enter into an unethical and unfair contingency price agreement, (he) took money that he was not entitled to beneath that arrangement.”

Hart ought to have gathered about $300,000 but as a substitute misled his susceptible shopper to demand extra service fees.

The Law Modern society said the customer experienced had a breakdown, tried suicide and was involuntarily hospitalized. He took her on although she was continue to below psychiatric care, had no profits and practically no property and created her situation worse.

A courtroom later described the settlement his client bought as a “weak end result.”


The choice states Hart’s steps have still left his customer destitute when she should have been fiscally protected.

In 2018, Hart was ordered to pay back again the shopper but to date, he has only paid out $18,000.

“Considerably less funds than he put in having his overall workplace on a holiday break in Las Vegas,” the decision reads.

This is the next time Hart has been disbarred by the B.C. Law Society.

In June 2021 he shed his licence to observe regulation right after he misappropriated $4,000 and acted in a conflict of desire more than $531,000 he loaned to his law organization.

The choice states considered Hart represented himself at the listening to he introduced no submissions and did not show up at.

“People today who act without having integrity and exploit their customers for their personal money achieve have no put in the legal profession. Attorneys are meant to be the ones protecting vulnerable folks. The community should really be able to rely on their lawyer to act in their ideal interests, dealing with them with regard, honesty and candour,” the final decision reads. “(Hart) has compromised the sanctity of the solicitor-shopper partnership and dishonoured the lawful job.”

The Law Society gave him 6 months to spend the $60,840 fees.


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