A lawyer is before the legal profession's disciplinary body for allegedly settling a Wanganui client's claim without his permission.
Wanganui man Bruce Campbell said Grant Shand worked on his case against a financial broker in 2008. Mr Campbell was making a claim against the broker for advising him to invest in the Blue Chip property scheme, which later collapsed.
"My wife got terminal cancer and I needed to look after her so I resigned from my job," Mr Campbell said.
"We needed to find a new house because my wife was in a wheelchair so we sold up in Hawke's Bay.
"I didn't make enough money to get a good home in Wanganui - I was about $10,000 short as all my available money had been spent on my wife's medication.
"The bank wouldn't lend me money because I was a caregiver and our income was about $15,000. I went to a broker and he came back and told me I could get the money through a Blue Chip scheme - it worked for 12 months and then it collapsed.
"I had two mortgages that I had to surrender. I lost everything."
Mr Campbell's wife, Alison, died in April 2006.
He contacted solicitors Grimshaw & Co, where Mr Shand was a partner, and he claims Mr Shand told him he had a strong case.
"He took the case on a contingency fee, so if I didn't win he wouldn't get paid, and he told me the claim was worth up to half a million dollars. It took ages to get the case into the High Court.
"We had a conference in the Wanganui High Court and they found out the guy I was suing didn't have the right kind of insurance."
Mr Campbell believed Mr Shand had lost interest in the case, however he wanted to go to court.
The broker made an offer to settle but Mr Campbell felt the amount offered was not sufficient.
In April last year, three days before the case was to be heard, Mr Campbell was told by Grimshaw lawyer Michael Wolff that a higher settlement had been offered. He warned him of the risks if he lost.
"I made a spur-of-the-moment decision and said 'yes'. But after I talked to my daughter and my partner about it, I rang him back about 10 minutes later and I said 'no, I don't want to settle'," he said.
Mr Wolff passed on the message but Mr Shand settled the case anyway, Mr Campbell said. "I was just shocked. I was just bloody physically distraught."
Mr Campbell said he was told by Mr Shand that he had arranged the settlement on his behalf.
"He said if I didn't sign the settlement papers I would get nothing. So I signed them but I have lodged a complaint to the Law Society."
The complaint is being referred to the Lawyers and Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal.
Mr Shand - who is running a law firm in Christchurch and was reported to have more earthquake clients than any other lawyer in the city - refused to comment.