Vancouver lawyer suspended after allegations of pseudo-legal ‘paper terrorism’ over neighbour’s patio

A Vancouver lawyer accused of filing a baseless pseudo-legal suit against her neighbour over a glass partition has been barred from practising in British Columbia while the province’s bar association investigates a complaint.

Naomi Arbabi was temporarily suspended on Dec. 28 after an interim action committee of the Law Society of BC “determined that extraordinary measures were necessary to protect the public,” according to an email sent to CBC News Tuesday.

“The suspension will remain in effect until the order is lifted or modified,” the email said.

A provisional action committee, established by the President of the Bar Association, shall consist of three or more lawyers who may be appointed to investigate complaints against a member of the Association.

The temporary ban is the latest development in a legal back-and-forth between Arbabi and her neighbor Colleen McLelland that began with accusations of rooftop trespassing and evolved into a dispute that McLelland said was based on debunked, pseudo-legal arguments.

In her lawsuit last October, Arbabi accused McLelland of trespassing by installing a privacy screen on her rooftop deck at her apartment complex in Vancouver’s Fairview neighbourhood.

Arbabi identified herself in the lawsuit as “I, a woman” and said the case would be heard in the “Naomi Arbabi Court.”

In her lawsuit, Arbabi stated that her claim was based “on the laws of the land and not on a complaint based on any statute or regulation,” and sought compensation of $1,000 per day for each day the glass partition was in use.

In November, McLelland petitioned the Supreme Court of British Columbia to dismiss Arbabi’s lawsuit on the grounds that it was “scandalous, frivolous or vexatious.” McLelland also asked the court to refer a lawsuit against Arbabi to the Law Society.

The company did not comment further on the details of its investigation in its email on Tuesday.

McLelland argued that the lawsuit was a clear example of what Canadian courts have called the organized pseudo-legal commercial argument (OPCA) – a thoroughly disproven and completely unsuccessful legal theory favored by fringe groups such as Sovereign Citizens and Freemen on the Land.

“In dealing with Ms. Arbabi’s notice and demand, I truly feel like I have been the victim of paper terrorism and believe the public must be protected from such litigation tactics,” McLelland said during her November appearance before the Supreme Court of British Columbia.

Master Susanna Hughes has not yet announced her decision on McLelland’s application.

Lawyer: Courts misunderstand “natural law”

In her statements to the court, Arbabi denied any connection to organized pseudo-legal groups, but told the court: “I believe that our legal system has many flaws.”

She argued that she was appearing in court as a “living, breathing, living woman,” not a lawyer, and said she referred to herself with a lowercase “i.”

“Holding a license to practice law in the jurisdiction of the Province of British Columbia does not make me a lawyer, just as holding a license to drive a motor vehicle does not make me a driver,” Arbabi said.

The Code of Conduct for Lawyers in British Columbia requires them to promote respect for the legal system and states that they should not undermine public confidence in legal institutions by making irresponsible claims.

Arbabi and McLelland are neighbors in this apartment block on Vancouver’s West Side. (Google Maps)

For her part, Arbabi claimed that Canadian judges who had ruled on OPCA plaintiffs did not truly grasp the concepts of “natural justice” and “trespass” on which their lawsuit was based.

“Many courts, including the plaintiff, have trouble understanding what is often referred to as natural law. … Natural law – or as I call it, equitable law – is that which is so obvious that it does not need to be written down in a law or statute,” Arbabi said.

She further stated that “a trespass occurs when a man or woman knowingly does a wrong act…not accidentally, not ignorantly, but intentionally, and without authority, and without remedy or lawful excuse.”

Arbabi claimed trespassing “gives you a dishonorable status that I would not wish on anyone,” and said she filed the lawsuit to give McLelland a chance to clear her name.

McLelland argued that her homeowners association was responsible for installing the partition wall after the previous one was removed without the permission of another owner. She said British Columbia law only allows lawsuits to be filed by or against homeowners associations, not between individual owners.

Arbabi has denied that her claim has anything to do with the building’s owners’ association, saying they have no “legal or statutory” claim to it.

Arbabi said her case was based more on the argument of estoppel, a legal concept from English common law that protects people who are adversely affected because they relied on representations about land.

She explained in court that there was no patio divider when she purchased her condo and that the installation of that divider ruined the “crown jewel” of her home – the view of the North Shore Mountains.

In November, Arbabi agreed to meet with a CBC reporter to discuss her lawsuit, but upon arrival she refused to answer any questions and instead read a statement warning of consequences if an article was published without her consent.

“Because such damage constitutes a very serious trespass, I seek compensation in the amount of $500,000 for this trespass plus $5,000 per day for as long as the trespass continues,” the statement said.