Commercial Litigation and Dispute Resolution Blog

In Kent v. Panorama Mountain Village Inc., 2021 BCCA 332, the BC Court of Appeal overturned a lower court decision and found that a restrictive covenant requiring owners of a strata unit to rent to the public only through a centralized rental management system was in fact enforceable.

The petitioners own a strata unit in a complex at the Panorama Resort. A restrictive covenant ...

The British Columbia Court of Appeal has overturned previous decisions on the recoverability of legal costs associated with remediation under the Environmental Management Act (“EMA”). The decision is likely to have important ramifications on contaminated sites actions and on the role of lawyers in remediation in the future.

The EMA governs remediation (clean up ...

Once again the courts have confirmed that commercial tenants must pay their rent, despite arguments about the effect of COVID-19.

In a recent decision, Cherry Lane Shopping Centre Holdings Ltd v. Hudson’s Bay Company ULC, 2021 BCSC 1178, the Supreme Court of British Columbia found that the provisions of the lease requiring Hudson’s Bay to pay rent were “clear ...

On June 15, 2021, a new amendment to Rule 016 governing review of Alberta Utilities Commission (‘AUC’ or the ‘Commission’) decisions will take effect. The rationale for the change is described in AUC Bulletin 2021-11 (dated May 6, 2021). Rule 016 sets out the criteria and process through which the Commission’s decisions may be reviewed or varied on application by ...

In May 2021, the total value of cryptocurrency globally surpassed USD $2.5 trillion, and continues its emergence as a new asset class.^[1]

Governments in Canada and around the world are updating regulatory requirements in response to the new innovations in financial technologies.

Historically, there has been regulatory uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrencies in ...

As courts across Canada continue to see a rising trend in self-represented litigants, it becomes increasingly important for them to understand court rules and procedures to ensure access to justice.

In the recent case of Blomer v Workers Compensation Board, the Alberta Court of Appeal considered whether the motions judge could correct the procedural missteps of the ...

What options does one have when they discover that a term in a previously executed contract or written instrument was worded poorly, or incorrectly drafted? Generally, parties in this scenario may seek the remedy of rectification, which gives a court the equitable jurisdiction to rectify or correct the document so that it accords with the parties’ true agreement ...

In its highly anticipated judgment, the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada found the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act constitutional in a split 6-3 decision.

The key issue before the court was whether the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (“GGPPA”) was constitutional. The majority decided that it was, because Parliament has jurisdiction to enact this law ...

For several decades in Canada, the court has applied the deferential standard of “reasonableness” when reviewing arbitral awards - subject to a narrow set of exceptions.

When applying the reasonableness standard, a reviewing court will show deference to the reasons of the decision-maker and uphold the award so long as the award falls within a “range of reasonable ...

The model Industry Agreements developed by the Canadian oil and gas industry (such as the CAODC-CAPP and PSAC contracts) stipulate that any unpaid contractor invoices shall bear interest at a rate of 18% per annum. This is by no means atypical. In the Canadian oil and gas industry it is very common to find contractual interest rates for late or unpaid invoices ranging from 12 ...