>What's the concensus? Am i being a male appendage and just chalk it up to experience or, when i my wife finds a new job, take them to small claims court. Candian law has the concept of "unjust enrichment" for cases where a firm can be shown to have benefited from someone's work unjustly.

Given that your friend and your wife work there, I would consider this an expensive 2 day lesson. Think of all the time you will waste taking them to court, the lost income from doing that instead of consulting. Plus any potential bad word of mouth this could spread.