Law360 Canada (August 21, 2024, 11:33 AM EDT) -- Appeal by respondent Executor from Court of King’s Bench judge’s dismissal of his appeal from passing of accounts order. He challenged the amount fixed for executor compensation, the award of solicitor and client costs against him and the impartiality and independence of the King’s Bench judge. The respondent was the executor of the deceased’s estate for just over eight years before disputes with the applicants over executor compensation and delay in the administration of the estate resulted in litigation. Despite repeated requests for distributions, the respondent refused to make any. Given the applicants’ refusal to sign the requested releases, the administration of the deceased’s estate froze. The applicants commenced the estate litigation to remove the respondent as the executor and to require him to pass accounts. During cross-examination at the passing of the accounts hearing, the respondent admitted that despite having over $1.4 million in excess trust monies, he was not prepared to make further distributions to the applicants without them agreeing to his executor fees and signing the releases. The associate judge concluded the root of the dispute between the parties was the respondent’s desire to charge an hourly rate for his services as an executor despite knowing that his executor fee would be at the sole discretion of the court....