Iggillis Holdings – Federal Court finds that there is no common-interest privilege exception to the loss of solicitor-client privilege in providing a legal opinion to another firm

Solicitor-client privilege over a tax-planning memo prepared for Abacus on a tax-structured purchase transaction by a tax lawyer was lost when the tax lawyer provided the memo in draft form to the vendors' tax lawyer, whose comments resulted in memo revisions. Annis J rejected the submissions of the vendor and Abacus that under the common-interest privilege doctrine, which seemingly had been adopted in Pitney Bowes, there was no waiver of privilege in providing the memo in connection with advancing a transaction that was in both parties’ interests, stating:

Advisory CIP significantly expands the quantity of relevant evidence that is denied to the courts. …Furthermore, it provides an increased potential for abuse, while undermining the administration of justice by predominantly enabling transactions that anticipate creating litigation.

Neal Armstrong. Summary of MNR v. Iggillis Holdings Inc., 2016 FC 1352 under s. 232(1) – solicitor-client privilege.