Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Blog

On January 31, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in A.I. Enterprises Ltd. v. Bram Enterprises Ltd., 2014 SCC 12. This is an important commercial decision as it clarifies and narrows the scope of the tort of unlawful interference in economic relations. Canadian businesses will also welcome the Court's reference to commercial certainty as one of the ...

Some time ago, I wrote a blog post about a Court of Appeal decision that upheld, and arguably extended, the enforceability of liability waivers and releases signed by customers of commercial enterprises.  That particular case involved zip-lining, an activity the court described as an inherently risky recreational adventure.  While that decision served as confirmation ...

On Thursday January 23, 2014 the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) issued two related decisions that may ultimately go a long way to the possible extinction of the conventional civil trial.  In Hryniak v. Mauldin 2014 SCC 7 and the companion case of Bruno Appliance & Furniture Inc. v. Hryniak 2014 SCC 8, the SCC in unanimous 7 – 0 decisions, issued very strong statements ...

It seemed like a good idea at the time. However, as time passes, things change and having a restrictive covenant on title to property can become a big problem. Restrictive covenants are charges registered on title to land that restrict the use and enjoyment of that land in some way.  They can prohibit activities on a property or confine the nature, size and location of ...

Are submissions, evidence and statements made in a regulatory proceeding subject to the same protection of absolute privilege that applies in a court? Not always; it depends on the proceeding.

In Wilson v Williams, 2013 BCCA 471, the court held that absolute privilege did not apply to statements made in letters submitted by persons who had registered as interveners in a ...

An executor, absent consent or a court order, must not make any distribution of estate assets to beneficiaries of a will for six months following the grant of probate. This is a statutory prohibition in section 12 of the Wills Variation Act (the “WVA”). There is a serious risk to executors who make early distribution.

This six month prohibition is intended to balance ...

Unlike the United States, Canada does not have a national securities regulator. In Canada, each province regulates securities through its own securities commission. One of the means of harmonizing securities regulation across the country is a provision in the securities legislation of each province that empowers its regulator to make an order (often referred to as a ...

On November 28, 2013, the Supreme Court of Canada released one decision in two appeals concerning a taxpayer’s ability to correct an error in an agreement entered into for tax planning purposes.  Although Quebec (Agencie du Revenu) v. Services Environnementaux AES inc., 2013 SCC 65 (“AES”), dealt with this issue under the Quebec Civil Code, it does have broader ...

In several earlier posts I discussed a B.C. Supreme Court decision involving problem strata owners who had, for years, defied efforts by the strata council to moderate their poor conduct.  The court ordered the sale of the strata unit as the only practical means to bring an end to what was described as “outrageous conduct."  The Court of Appeal allowed the owner’s first ...

As is frequently noted in the press, B.C.’s Director of Civil Forfeiture is very aggressive in pursuing forfeiture in all sorts of cases, often without opposition.  Occasionally, however, the court steps in to curtail this enthusiasm.  One such interesting case  took place recently.

Jason Dery, a 40 year old “automotive collision repair technician”, has a terrible ...