David James Blott Resigns

On June 13, 2014, a Resignation Committee of the Benchers of Alberta's Law Society, granted David John Blott to resign pursuant to s.61 of the Legal Profession Act.  We are told that this is the same as being disbarred.  

Or is it?  Let's take a look at s.61.

Resignation instead of continued proceedings

61(1) Subject to the rules, a member whose conduct is the subject of proceedings under this Division may at any time during the proceedings apply to the Benchers for their approval of the member’s resignation as a member instead of having the proceedings continue.

(2) The Benchers may hold a hearing of an application under this section if they consider that a hearing is warranted in the circumstances. 

(3) The Benchers may reject the application or, if they accept it,

(a) may make their acceptance of the application subject to any conditions the Benchers consider appropriate in the circumstances, and 

(b) shall give directions as to the information to be entered in the roll in relation to the member’s resignation.

(4) If a person resigns as a member pursuant to this section, then, subject to any conditions prescribed by the Benchers pursuant to subsection (3)(a), proceedings under this Division shall be discontinued in respect of the conduct that was the subject of the

proceedings and to which the resignation relates.

(5) The Benchers may delegate any of their authority under this section to a committee of the Benchers.

RSA 2000 cL-8 s61;2003 c42 s12 

Definitions

1 In this Act, 

(c) “disbar” means terminate the membership of a person in the Society by

(i) an order made under Part 3 or an order under any predecessor of this Act of the Benchers then holding office, 

or
(ii) the resignation of that person under section 61

According to the LSA's Resignation Committee Report, Blott was ordered to pay costs in the amount of $60,000 over three years (out of aggregate costs of $215,000).  

The report further states that should Blott apply for reinstatement to membership, he will have to pay the balance of those costs.

The above is what amounts to the punishment Blott received from the Law Society of Alberta (LSA) and does not reflect any civil or criminal justice.

Calgary Lawyer "David Blott" Disbarred

According to the Canadian Press on June 13, 2014, The Law Society of Alberta disbarred the lawyer accused of misconduct in his handling of settlements awarded to survivors of residential school abuse.

"The panel heard that between 2006 and 2012, Blott’s Calgary law firm handled almost 4,600 residential school claims, many in southern Alberta. Information was taken from each victim who would sign a retainer agreement. If the settlement were $100,000, Blott would receive $15,000 from the federal government and up to an additional $15,000 from the settlement payout.

“The tragic reality … is what started out as a reconciliation effort in the righting of wrongs turned into what can only be described as a factory of gross self-interest, where victims of the residential school system were essentially revictimized and treated less like human beings and more like cattle,” said Harvie.

“They were in fact dehumanized by a process where the ultimate goal appears to be making as much money as possible with the least amount of personal attention.”

Blott’s lawyer Roy Millen said although his client acknowledged there was evidence of wrongdoing, he wasn't admitting guilt to anything.

Blott told the panel he accepted the statement of facts presented by his lawyer yet offered no apology and also stated: “I don’t have anything to add.”

Some of the agreed upon facts included the following:

• Blott used the services of two non-lawyer companies – Honor Walk Ltd. and Residential Schools Healing Society – and their form-fillers to solicit clients and process their claims.
• Those companies were operated by then-Calgary entrepreneur Thom Denomme, who met Blott in 2005.
• They charged survivors for their services and, in violation of the IAP, took the money straight from the compensation payout.
• Using their services implied hiring Blott as their attorney.
• File administration was done by a third company – Hands-Free Office Systems – run by Denomme’s girlfriend Jennifer Mackenzie, then of Bragg Creek.
• Employees of all four companies worked out of each other’s offices.
• Denomme directed form-fillers to stick to certain ‘harms’ Blott said were commonly accepted by adjudicators of the claims.
• Blott paid Denomme $200,000 a month, amounting to more than $6 million through 2011.
• Blott lawyers failed clients in most areas, especially when they reviewed applications over the phone instead of in-person and submitted claims.
• Claims were altered, submitted late and sent in even if clients had died.
• Documents were pre-witnessed, signatures were cut and pasted onto forms, and wrong dates were used.
• 1,159 applications were found in storage that clients believed had been submitted.
• 182 applications were labelled Do Not Qualify while, in fact, some of them did.
• Four times Blott told clients their claims were rejected by the government when, in fact, it was he who rejected them.
• Blott charged the highest fee allowable under the IAP of 30 per cent in each case.
• Clients could not reach Blott & Company lawyers by phone.
• Blott handled 380 loans for 77 clients contrary to third-party rules in the IAP.
• 10 lenders loaned the principal amount of $3.3 million.
• Three of the main loan companies were Settlement Lenders of Edmonton, Bridgepoint Financial of Toronto and Funds Now of Calgary, operated by another friend David Hamm of Calgary.
• Hamm would sell big-screen TVs and laptop computers to clients from their loans.
• Hamm received a 20 per cent finder’s fee on each of his loans.
• Blott’s brother invested in Funds Now.
• Interest fees on loans ranged from 19.95 per cent to 29.95 per cent annually or between $50 and $500 monthly, and deducted from compensation awards.
• The fee charged by Funds Now increased the interest to exceed a criminal rate of interest that exceeds 60 per cent annually.

Blood Tribe in Alberta File Class Action

As an avid on-line shopper interested in all things natural, I checked out the website of the "Blood Tribe" in southern Alberta. The Blood Tribe inhabited what is now Southern Alberta and Montana long before any treaties and borders were imposed.

 "Head smashed in buffalo jump" is a tourist attraction built by the Alberta government on their land.

In visiting their site, one immediately feels a sense of comfort, whether it's from the words written, the beauty in the pictures, or in the knowledge of such honest and caring individuals, the feeling is serene.


Announced on their web-site is the filing of a class action law suit by three of their members - and it was filed against the lawyer that was supposed to help the many victims forced into the heinous residential school system.

Myself, I only became aware of these schools a few years back, as did many of my friends. Upon learning that the Residential School System was actually yet another act of genocide - is just something so unforgivable and shameful, no words can express how deep the sorrow is.

The defendant in the class action lawsuit - a David Blott, had a basic fiduciary duty to protect his client's best interest and to ensure that each receive their right to proper compensation. As a result of that lawyer's gross negligence and breach in fiduciary duties, many victims were denied compensation altogether while others received far less than what they should have received. 

It is estimated that Blott and his cronies billed in excess of 14 million in fees - fees that were appropriated from the very clients they were supposed to be protecting!!!! 

This gets worse - apparently Blott and his pals set up corporations to loan their clients advanced funds but then charged them interest at rates exceeding 50%!

This type of abuse will surely prevent other people from engaging the services of lawyers under normal circumstances. However, these were not normal circumstances; the actions of this one lawyer is so heinous and so despicable, one wonders how anyone could ever trust that profession again.

The Calgary Herald includes more details obtained from the filed statement of claim and that story can be read by clicking the following link:

Calgary Herald story from Nov 2/13

Although Blott was relieved from inadequately representing other Residential School Victims including current clients being yanked from his disservice, the Law Society in Alberta has not yet disbarred him as they are still conducting their investigation.


Is someone like that able to look themselves in the mirror without shame?