Zenner & Zerd v Flanagan & Macnutt & Dumont

canada, canadian, case law, court opinion, canlii, pescad, 2026peca6, 2026 peca 6 (canlii), 2026, peca, 6, (canlii), s1-ca-1537, 2026, civil liability, professional negligence, duty of care, law firm liability, whether duty of care arose between appellant and respondent law firm for new retainer with former lawyer, proximity, undertaking and reliance analysed under deloitte & touche v. livent inc. and cooper v. hobart, no duty of care found, appeal dismissed, civil liability, vicarious liability and agency, apparent authority, whether respondent law firm was indirectly liable for respondent lawyer’s wrongful conduct, fullowka v. royal oak ventures inc. vicarious liability framework applied, agency principles, actual and apparent authority, reliance and prejudice considered, no vicarious liability or agency established, appeal dismissed, civil liability, causation, material contribution, whether trial judge erred in applying “but for” causation rather than material contribution, clements (litigation guardian of) v. clements applied to limited circumstances for material contribution, no basis for exceptional test on record, “but for” test upheld, appeal dismissed, civil liability, damages, loss of chance, whether professional negligence caused loss of chance to avoid losses including support variation and related legal fees, folland v. reardon criteria applied, chance must rise above mere speculation, trial judge found no causative link and no real and significant chance proven, loss of chance claims dismissed, appeal dismissed