Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Blog

Fraudsters are very clever. Many set up elaborate commercial transactions for the purpose of absconding with someone else's money.  By the time the scheme is discovered, an innocent victim is usually out of pocket, often for large sums of money. In an effort to recover that loss, the victim often turns to other innocent parties who were unknowingly involved in the deal and ...

Introduction

In Vancouver Community College v Vancouver Career College (Burnaby) 2017 BCCA 41, the British Columbia Court of Appeal found that Vancouver Community College (“VCC”) had established the tort of passing off against Vancouver Career College (“Career College”) for using “VCC” and “VCCollege” as part of Career College’s internet ...

The recent decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal in Chriscan Enterprises Ltd. v. St. Pierre, 2016 BCCA 442, reminds those who elect to resolve their business disputes through arbitration that decisions of the arbitrator, even those touching on the fairness of procedures, will generally be final and not subject to review by the courts. As the Court noted, the ...

Few property disputes engender more anger and unreasonable behaviour than trespass and nuisance claims between residential neighbours.  Municipal and other authorities, such as regional districts or stratas, are either loath to get involved or simply refuse to exercise their authority, though that would often resolve matters sooner.  As a result, such disputes between ...

In the recent decision in Soprema Inc. v. Wolrige Mahon LLP, 2016 BCCA 471, the British Columbia Court of Appeal confirmed the status of solicitor-client privilege as “nearly absolute” and clarified the test for determining whether a party has impliedly waived of solicitor-client privilege by making its state of mind a material issue in an action.

Soprema commenced an ...

Given that Canada, and BC in particular, has an economy driven largely by international trade, it will come as no surprise that many of those transactions are conducted in currencies other than the Canadian dollar.  What happens when you need to sue in Canada over a contract that deals in, for example, US dollars or Japanese Yen?  How and when do the courts address the conversion ...

On September 9, 2016, the B.C. Supreme Court issued the first decision to consider the court’s new practice directive concerning the often contentious question of whether to permit a trial to be recorded for broadcasting.

In British Columbia, like other provinces in Canada, trials and other court proceedings are not typically recorded for the purpose of media ...

On September 15, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC) released its decision in Ledcor Construction Ltd. v Northbridge Indemnity Insurance (2016 SCC 37). In its decision, the Court considered the appropriate standard of review for standard form contracts, as well as the proper interpretation of an insurance policy exclusion clause.

Writing for all but Justice ...

In companion cases released on June 3, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC”) confirmed the central importance of solicitor-client privilege to the rule of law in Canada. In Canada (National Revenue) v. Thompson, 2016 SCC 21, and Canada (Attorney General) v. Chambre des notaires du Québec, 2016 SCC 20, the Court considered provisions of the Income Tax Act (the ...

The residential real estate market in the Lower Mainland is incredibly active. Prices continue to rise by significant amounts in a matter of weeks, sometimes days. Stories abound of bidding wars and sales without subject clauses. Out of anxiety or excitement, purchasers sometimes forgo viewing the property or having an inspection done.

What happens when the home you ...