Between June and August 2025, our condominium corporation spent over $72,000 on lawyers – in just three months.
That’s money that could have gone toward overdue maintenance, accessibility improvements, or reducing next year’s special assessment.
Instead, it went to SV Law, Cohen Highley, and others — mostly to fight owners, not serve them.
💰 Breakdown (from the corporation’s own general ledger)
| Date | Supplier | Description | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | SV Law | Appeal of CAT decision, requisition meeting, general affairs | $21,583.38 |
| July 2025 | Joseph Patrick Murphy | Appeal decision payment balance – cost award | $5,500.00 |
| July 2025 | SV Law | Additional fees for “general affairs” | $412.45 |
| August 2025 | Cohen Highley | Lawyer introduced by property management company to convince Board to appeal | $2,963.43 |
| August 2025 | SV Law | CAT application, “review of various emails” | $3,213.72 |
| August 2025 | Antoaneta Baha & Joseph Murphy | Court-ordered cost award (appeal) | $17,500.00 |
| Total (July–August 2025) | $72,169.03 |
🕵️ Behind the scenes
A trusted source confirmed that when the Board was unsure whether to appeal the CAT decision, the property management company intervened – bringing in a lawyer they personally recommended to convince the Board to move forward.
That lawyer? Cohen Highley charged 1,151.47 to convince the board to appeal and lose.
So instead of urging restraint or fiscal responsibility, the management company allegedly encouraged escalation – pushing the Board into a costly appeal that residents are now footing the bill for.
📉 What this means
- The corporation burned through $72K in legal fees in just 90 days.
- They paid lawyers to appeal a Tribunal loss and then paid again when they lost the appeal.
- They paid for routine “reviews” and “meetings” that competent directors could have handled internally.
- They paid cost awards to owners they wronged, adding insult to financial injury.
- And now we know that some of those decisions were influenced by outside parties with no accountability to owners.
🧾 The bottom line
At this pace, legal expenses could exceed $288,000 a year – the cost of a full reserve fund repair project. That means another special assessment.
That’s not prudent governance – it’s fiscal recklessness.
🧠 The question every owner should ask
When the management company’s “advice” results in a $72,000 legal bill, you have to ask:
Who are they really protecting – the owners, or themselves?
Time to hire a property management company that serves the community not themselves.
