How have the courts dealt with a claim for the return of client files from a plaintiff law firm?

In Grillo v. D’Angela, supra, the defendants were lawyers who practised as associates with the plaintiff law firm. After the firm had closed for Christmas holidays, the defendants removed some 250 files and left a note for the principal of the firm announcing that they were forming a new firm and that a number of clients had directed their files to be transferred to the new firm. In fact, many of the clients had not provided that direction and there were outstanding fees and disbursements that were owing to the plaintiff. Although the court found that, as solicitor of record, the plaintiff had a higher right to possession of the files than the defendants and that there was a strong prima facie case that the defendants breached their duty of good faith, it refused to order the return of the files, finding that the plaintiff’s legitimate financial interests could be addressed through an order allowing for orderly transition of the files with clients’ direction.