An NWT Court of Appeal judge has dismissed a lawyer’s appeal of an order requiring him to return the $90,000 paid to him by the disgraced former head of the Łútsël K’é Dene First Nation’s business arm.
Ron Barlas, the former CEO of Denesoline Corporation, wired the $90,000 retainer to Andrew Rogerson, an Ontario-based lawyer whose services included asset protection, on April 28, 2023.
Two days prior, the court had frozen the assets of Barlas and his wife as the First Nation pursued a lawsuit against him, which he subsequently lost.
In a scathing ruling in March 2025, NWT Supreme Court Justice Nicholas Devlin found the payment of $90,000 from Barlas’ account violated the freezing order. He ordered Rogerson to return the full retainer and pay the First Nation $46,995 in legal costs.
Rogerson also helped Barlas move more than $1 million worth of gold and silver from the NWT to his offices in Ontario, which he has since returned.
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Rogerson has yet to return the money. He filed an appeal of Devlin’s order arguing that the decision was unreasonable and alleging “hostility and lack of impartiality,” confirmation bias, and a lack of evidentiary basis.
Earlier this month, Justice Dawn Pentelechuk granted Rogerson a final extension to advance that appeal, giving him until the end of May 14 to file documents.
The judge subsequently struck the appeal as first reported by CBC. She said Rogerson could still apply to the court to have the appeal restored.
Allegations of misconduct
The Łútsël K’é Dene First Nation had started the legal action against Rogerson as part of a series of lawsuits it has launched connected to Barlas’ misappropriation of millions of dollars during his time as CEO of Denesoline.
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Lawyers for the First Nation recently asked the court to dismiss Rogerson’s appeal, arguing the lawyer had missed several scheduled court appearances and deadlines for filing documents.
The First Nation alleged Rogerson had tried to obstruct efforts to recoup the $90,000 and the delays in advancing his appeal were “yet another example” of improper conduct.
Rogerson had argued the delays were due to challenges dealing with an NWT-based lawsuit from outside the territory, being hospitalized for pneumonia and having his licence to practice law suspended, resulting in the “collapse” of his law practice.
In August 2025, an Ontario tribunal temporarily suspended Rogerson’s licence, finding there were “reasonable grounds to believe there is a significant risk to the public and to the public interest in the administrative of justice” if he were allowed to continue practising law.
Rogerson said he is awaiting the outcome of an appeal of that suspension.
Earlier this month, the Law Society of Ontario applied for a further order from the tribunal. The law society filed fresh allegations that Rogerson has engaged in unprofessional conduct since May 2023 by breaching court orders, misappropriating the $90,000, making “discourteous, sexually harassing, and/or discriminatory comments to opposing counsel,” and failing to co-operate with a law society investigation.
The matter is currently before the Ontario Law Society Tribunal.
