Alberta lawyer Jeffrey Rath and his wife sold a British Columbia waterfront estate for $6.6 million while his firm was challenging an order to refund millions in legal fees to Tallcree First Nation, according to an investigation by Global News.

The reporting, by Ashleigh Stewart, found that subsequent property transactions transferred Rath’s interest in a Calgary home to his wife and granted her a $10-million collateral mortgage over his Foothills ranch. What happened to the estate sale proceeds, and the financial implications of those later transactions, remain unclear.

In March 2021, an Alberta judge ordered Rath’s firm to refund $8.5 million to Tallcree. Rath and the firm appealed. In July that year, Rath and Dayna Laverick-Rath sold their jointly owned Galiano Island estate, according to land-title records examined by Global News.

The couple had acquired the two properties comprising Blue Raven Estate for a combined $2.49 million in 2006 and 2008. The sale price was $4.11 million above their combined purchase prices, though that difference does not establish their net profit.

Archived listings described a 9.4-acre waterfront compound with a main house, two guest houses, two deep-water docks, a helipad and a private four-hole golf course. It had been listed for $8.58 million in December 2018.

Within weeks of the sale, Rath transferred his interest in the couple’s $1.7-million Calgary home to Laverick-Rath for a stated $1. Three months later, she received the collateral mortgage against three ranch properties, Global reported.

Questioned in court about the mortgage, Rath said it arose from a matrimonial property agreement and denied it was intended to protect assets from creditors. Global said the Galiano sale and Calgary transfer had not surfaced in court proceedings.

Tallcree chief Rupert Meneen is suing Rath and RathPC for nearly $15 million over disputed trust withdrawals, including the refund and administration fees. The First Nation has asked the court to expand an investigative receiver’s authority to take control of assets and recover money. An Alberta court has already frozen Rath’s assets and appointed the receiver to trace disputed funds.

Rath did not respond to Global’s questions for the investigation. In an Oct. 17 conversation with the outlet, he characterized the litigation as a “fee dispute” and maintained that First Nations had agreed to payments for legal services.

Sources