277Closure of whole or part of complaint after preliminary assessment

277 Closure of whole or part of complaint after preliminary assessment

277 Closure of whole or part of complaint after preliminary assessment

(1) At any stage after the preliminary assessment of a complaint, the designated local regulatory authority may close the complaint without further consideration of its merits for any of the following reasons to the extent they are applicable—

(a) the complaint is vexatious, misconceived, frivolous or lacking in substance;

(b) the complaint was made out of time;

(c) the complainant has not responded, or has responded inadequately, to a request for further information;

(d) the subject matter of the complaint has been or is already being investigated;

(e) the subject matter of the complaint would be better investigated or dealt with by police or another investigatory or law enforcement body;

(f) the designated local regulatory authority has made a recommendation under section 82(4) in relation to the lawyer concerned;

(g) the subject matter of the complaint is the subject of civil proceedings, except so far as it is a disciplinary matter;

(h) the designated local regulatory authority, having considered the complaint, forms the view that the complaint requires no further investigation, except so far as it is a consumer matter;

(i) the complaint is not one that the designated local regulatory authority has power to deal with;

(j) the designated local regulatory authority is satisfied that it is otherwise in the public interest to close the complaint.

(2) After the preliminary assessment of a complaint made by a commercial or government client, the designated local regulatory authority must immediately close the complaint without further consideration of its merits unless it contains or gives rise to a disciplinary matter.

Note

Section 268(3) precludes a commercial or government client from obtaining relief under this Chapter in relation to a consumer matter.

(3) A complaint may be closed under this section without any investigation or without completing an investigation.

(4) The designated local regulatory authority is not required to give a complainant, a lawyer or law practice an opportunity to be heard or make a submission to the designated local regulatory authority before determining whether or not to close a complaint under this section.