Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Blog

On February 18, 2016, the Supreme Court of Canada granted Google leave to appeal the decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal in the case of Google Inc. v. Equustek Solutions Inc., 2015 BCCA 265, a case previously discussed on this blog in October 2014 while it was before the Court of Appeal.  The appeal will have important ramifications for companies seeking to protect ...

In a recent B.C. Court of Appeal decision, the court was asked to revisit the age old question of whether vendors of real property in British Columbia can still rely on the doctrine of caveat emptor or 'buyer beware' to avoid certain types of claims made by disgruntled purchasers.  In short, the court ultimately recognized the continuing application of the doctrine with only ...

On December 4, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC”) issued its decision in Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce v. Green, 2015 SCC 60. In the highly anticipated decision, a deeply divided Court rendered their reasons for a trilogy of appeals that arose from securities class action cases against CIBC, IMAX Corporation, and Celestica Inc. In each case the plaintiff ...

On November 5, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada (the “SCC”) granted leave to appeal in two related cases: Endean v. British Columbia, 2014 BCCA 61, and Parsons v. Ontario, 2015 ONCA 158. The resolution of these two cases will shape the scope of inter-jurisdictional coordination for national class actions in Canada by determining whether or not provincial judges may sit ...

On Tuesday October 20, 2015, Bill 38, the Franchises Act, successfully passed third reading. The Government of British Columbia first introduced the bill on October 6, 2015, and it is now in its final stage of enactment. The Franchises Act will come into force upon Royal Assent which is expected to be granted towards the end of 2016 or early in 2017.

Once in force, the ...

Pre-judgment garnishing orders have been called “unique and extraordinary”.  They are one of only two forms of pre-judgment execution available in B.C., the second being the far more onerous Mareva injunction. What is a pre-judgment garnishing order and what does it do?

A pre-judgment garnishing order is a way of securing funds from a debtor to satisfy a judgment you ...

In a recent decision from the BC Court of Appeal, the court once again had to struggle with the often difficult issue of what is a “chattel” and what becomes a “fixture” during the course of a commercial tenancy.  In the result, the court confirmed that the test of a chattel v. fixture is not a subjective one, but rather is objective.  Accordingly, although parties to a ...

On September 18, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its reasons in Stuart Olson Dominion Construction Ltd. v. Structal Heavy Steel, 2015 SCC 43.  Although the judgment concerned the interpretation of the Manitoba Builders’ Lien Act, it has implications for owners, contractors and others in the construction industry across Canada, including remedies available to ...

On September 4, 2015, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its decision in Chevron Corp v Yaiguaje, 2015 SCC 42. In a unanimous decision, the Court dismissed Chevron’s appeal, holding that Canadian courts have jurisdiction to enforce a foreign judgment whether or not the original dispute or the parties to it had any connection to Canada.  The decision will have far-reaching ...

Privacy is important. It is a matter of much current debate as changes in technology and the law arguably makes it more difficult to maintain and protect. Does the internet make privacy impossible? Is the passage of Bill C-51 a threat to individual privacy? Is the escalating use of drones a privacy concern? The answers to these questions are varied and uncertain. But how does ...