The boyfriend of an MH17 victim has become embroiled in a battle over legal fees with the firm he hired for his compensation claim.
Werner Lupker, the boyfriend of 37-year-old air disaster victim Dafne Nieveen, has taken Shine Lawyers to court in Queensland after the company refused to release his file when he changed firms unless he paid $20,000 in fees.
Mr Lupker had hired Shine on a "no win, no fee" basis to act for him on claims against "all parties responsible" for the loss of Ms Nieveen, according to a Supreme Court judgment published on Thursday.
But Mr Lupker ended the contract when the solicitor looking after his case moved firms, taking Mr Lupker with him.
Shine then refused to hand over Mr Lupker's file until professional fees of $20,643.50 plus GST were paid.
The file included details of Ms Nieveen's earning capacity needed to assess a potential payout for a dependency claim.
Ms Nieveen was a Dutch citizen who moved to Australia with Mr Lupker four years before her Malaysian Airlines flight was shot out of the sky over the Ukraine in July last year.
The Supreme Court ruled in favour of Mr Lupker on Thursday and found that Shine is not currently entitled to payment from Mr Lupker.
Justice John Bond ordered Shine to release the case paperwork to him.
Mr Lupker's new firm Maurice Blackburn has undertaken to pay Shine $22,707 if the compensation claim is successful.
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