Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Blog

The British Columbia Court of Appeal recently released its decision in Hunt v. The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 25556, 2018 BCCA 159, reaffirming the longstanding maxim that “justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done.” 

The Hunt decision arises out of arbitration over concerns about the installation of a heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit between ...

On April 24, 2018, the BC government introduced Bill 21 to amend the Class Proceeding Act (“CPA”). The amendments will change BC from an “opt in” jurisdiction for non-residents to an “opt out” jurisdiction. There were a number of consequential amendments to the CPA that address the issues that will now arise from certification of “multi-jurisdictional” ...

Over the years, the courts have sought to protect the public interest in ascertaining the truth in civil litigation proceedings while at the same time affording protection to the privacy interests of the parties involved. The Court of Appeal for British Columbia recently addressed this issue in Duncan v. Lessing, 2018 BCCA 9, when affirming that the statutory tort of ...

On June 22, 2017, the Supreme Court of Canada (the "SCC") delivered its decision in Teal Cedar Products Ltd. v. British Columbia, 2017 SCC 32 [“Teal Cedar”]. The decision affirms the SCC's prior ruling that narrowly construes the types of issues which are questions of law for the purpose of an appeal to a court from an arbitration ruling in British Columbia, and mandates a ...

On April 19, 2017, in Humphreys v Trebilcock, 2017 ABCA 116 ("Humphreys"),  the Alberta Court of Appeal set out six "essential" questions that an adjudicator must ask in order to apply Rule 4.31, the "chronic delay" rule. Under the Alberta Rules of Court (the "Rules"), a party may apply to dismiss an action for undue delay pursuant to Rule 4.31 at any time in an action or Rule 4.33 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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 April 16, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada released its Reasons for Judgment in the case of Carey v. Laiken, 2015 SCC 17, clarifying that a specific intention to breach a court order is not necessary for a finding of contempt, and clarifying when a Court can and cannot revisit a finding of contempt that it has previously made.

Mr. Carey was counsel for Mr. Sabourin and his ...