| VANCOUVER — A woman has been awarded more
than $250,000 in a legal settlement stemming from her divorce — 18
years after her ex-husband’s death.
Vancouver lawyer Hugh Graham Ladner and his former wife, Julie Marjorie Ladner, were divorced 20 years ago, "but neither the divorce nor Mr. Ladner's subsequent death ended their acrimonious litigation," a judge observed in a judgment released this week. As part of their divorce settlement, the lawyer agreed to maintain a $400,000 life insurance, naming his ex-wife as the beneficiary, but he never did. The money was supposed to cover court-ordered spousal support of $2,340 a month for the woman's life. Hugh Ladner died of drowning on Feb. 18, 1992. His ex-wife sued the estate for breach of contract, but the estate was by then insolvent so she was unable to recover the full amount of the judgment. She did get a $165,000 settlement. She then sued the law firm that handled her case, Ganapathi Ashcroft and Company, and lawyer Harvey Wolfson, for negligence, claiming they failed to pursue an alternative trust claim that would have given her priority over the estate's other creditors. The defendants maintained they conducted the plaintiff's case appropriately. B.C. Supreme Court Justice Nate Smith ruled that Wolfson "failed to meet the standard of care expected of a reasonable lawyer." The judge awarded the plaintiff $252,621 in damages for negligence, plus interest from June 1998, and court costs. nhallvancouversun.com
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