File Photo (Image Credit: CFJC Today)

By James Peters

City Hall

Second lawyer sues Kamloops mayor for unpaid fees

Apr 10, 2025 | 12:19 PM

KAMLOOPS — A second lawyer is suing Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson in an effort to have the mayor pay his bills.

Vancouver-based Owen Bird LC filed a B.C. Supreme Court action against the mayor on April 2.

The court filing includes 16 invoices dating from April 29, 2024 to December 31, 2024. Together, they total to $52,384.76 in fees allegedly owed to the firm.

Hamer-Jackson retained Owen Bird’s Daniel Coles in the fall of 2023 after he ended his solicitor-client relationship with David McMillan. Coles took over representing the mayor in his defamation lawsuit against Councillor Katie Neustaeter.

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Only one of the invoices attached to the Owen Bird action is expressly for work on the Neustaeter lawsuit, totalling $1,094.81.

Two invoices, totalling $2,096.24, are for Coles’ work on Hamer-Jackson’s defamation lawsuit against Kamloops developer Joshua Knaak.

The remaining 13 invoices are designated for Coles’ work on either “Code of Conduct Matters and Related Workplace Investigations” or “Miscellaneous Allegations and Investigations”.

McMillan has also taken Hamer-Jackson to court for unpaid legal fees.

“I gave [Coles] a $20,000 retainer originally for the Neustaeter file, but since the amendment of the Code of Conduct bylaw, I think Councillors Bass and Neustaeter and, I think, Councillor Bepple have filed a Code of Conduct complaints against me so the majority of [the invoices] are those,” Hamer-Jackson told CFJC Today. “So as soon as they decide to indemnify me…”

Hamer-Jackson is seeking council to reinstate his indemnity, something he has brought up at several council meetings to no avail.

“I have always told Dan Coles I will be sending him money, and I sent him money [Wednesday],” the mayor continued. “I sent him another $2,000 [Wednesday] and I sent him more money. But he his very well aware I have been taking pay cuts pretty good. And, again, hopefully others will take suit.”

Reached for comment on the matter, Coles declined.

The Owen Bird allegations are set to be heard in B.C. Supreme Court on August 14, 2025, with a pre-hearing conference scheduled for May 27.

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Editor’s note: Daniel Coles and Owen Bird act for clients from a diverse range of fields and industries including the media industry. Coles and Owen Bird have acted on behalf of Pattison Media in legal matters not related to the City of Kamloops, Reid Hamer-Jackson or any other individuals involved in this proceeding.