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Crowe testified that he was retained to represent Yahya, but from the outset of the case it was made clear to him that Shafia would be paying the defence costs.

Crowe said he initially charged $450 an hour for Yahya’s defence.

In October 2010, Shafia asked for Crowe to lower his fee, and a new rate of $365 was negotiated, Crowe said.

In December 2011, as his fees for services began to outpace the money the family was putting forward and the outstanding amounts started to add up, Crowe said he offered to again lower his rate to $350 if Shafia paid the overdue amounts promptly, he said.

In March 2012, after the trial had wrapped up, Crowe offered to reduce the outstanding amount to just less than $67,000 in an effort to compel Shafia to pay his bill. There was no response to that offer, Crowe said.

Crowe said he discussed his fee with Shafia during meetings in a room in the basement of the Frontenac County Court House. The meetings included all three family members on trial, their attorneys and an interpreter, he said.

While Yahya was present, Crowe said she did not participate in the discussions about Crowe’s fees.

“There were never any complaints about my fees until I commenced my statement of claim,” Crowe said while being questioned by his attorney, Michael Woogh.

In his cross-examination Shafia’s lawyer, Eric Lavictoire from Cornwall, pointed out that Crowe’s records show he only met with Shafia once. Crowe replied that his court docket is often not detailed enough to show the individuals with whom he has met.