May 22, 2014

Kevin Gourlay

Bad Neighbours aka The “Stoop and Scoop” case

Some of the most entertaining cases that make their way through the Courts revolve around warring neighbours.  Sometimes the disputes involve “real” concerns such as long-term fences that are found to be too far onto one person’s property.  Or, they can be about utterly trivial nonsense that a normal person…

Continue Reading

Categories

Counsel Notes

May 15, 2014

Kevin Gourlay

Jury Trial for Toronto Maple Leaf Cody Franson

Reasons today from Madam Justice Fisher in Franson v. Caldarella, 2014 BCSC 853.  Current Toronto Maple Leaf and former Vancouver Giant was injured in a car accident in 2008.  In this lawsuit, he alleges that the injuries he suffered in that accident delayed his entry into the NHL resulting in significant…

Continue Reading

April 25, 2014

Kevin Gourlay

The Inequity of Double Costs — Wettlaufer v. Air Transat

Rule 9-1 is intended to encourage parties to settle cases.  It does so by giving trial judges the discretion to order penalties in costs against parties that failed to accept reasonable settlement offers.  This generally means that if the plaintiff recovers more than he offered to settle for, he gets…

Continue Reading

Categories

Counsel Notes

April 8, 2014

Kevin Gourlay

Plaintiff Credibility Matters: Unreliable Plaintiff’s Claim Dismissed

Reasons on Monday from a 4-day trial in March, 2012: Fancy v. Gareau, 2014 BCSC 584.  The plaintiff claimed to be injured in a September, 2008, accident.  However, her evidence was wholly inconsistent with forms she had completed for WorkSafeBC regarding a workplace accident she had had some months prior. [84]         At…

Continue Reading

April 3, 2014

Kevin Gourlay

Police Chases and Public Safety

Police officers have very difficult jobs.  They routinely face difficult and dangerous situations where split second decisions have to be made. Their job is to protect the public and doing so can often mean choosing the lesser of two evils — this can mean choosing between letting a suspect get…

Continue Reading

April 2, 2014

Kevin Gourlay

Liability of “Common Carriers”

Reasons today from Mr. Justice Abrioux in Bideci v. Neuhold, 2014 BCSC 542, a case involving the liability of common carriers.  The case arose from injuries suffered by a 93-year-old man who fell when a bus driver pulled out from a stop before the plaintiff had a chance to exit. The…

Continue Reading

March 27, 2014

Kevin Gourlay

Bette Midler and Lay Opinion Evidence

Reasons today from Mr. Justice Sigurdson in Giczi v. Kandola, 2014 BCSC 508, a case in which the plaintiff suffered serious injuries that prevented her from, for better or for worse, being able to pursue a career as a Bette Midler tribute artist. Of particular interest is the Court’s discussion of…

Continue Reading

Credit Card Conspiracy Class Action

Reasons today from Chief Justice Bauman, still of the Supreme Court at the time of the application, on a proposed class action against Visa, MasterCard, Royal Bank, BMO, and most of the major financial institutions in Canada.  By my count, 31 lawyers, including several of the top litigators in the…

Continue Reading

March 25, 2014

Kevin Gourlay

The Seatbelt Defence — Lakhani v. Samson

An otherwise blameless plaintiff injured in an accident can be found contributorily negligent for failing to wear a seatbelt.  However, the burden rests with the defendant to establish a seatbelt defence.  As stated by Madam Justice Hyslop in Schenker v. Scott, 2013 BCSC 599, to establish a seatbelt defence a defendant…

Continue Reading

March 23, 2014

Kevin Gourlay

The Supreme Court of Canada Refuses Justice Nadon’s Appointment

Reasons on Friday from the SCC concluding that Harper’s most recent appointment, the Honourable Marc Nadon, was not qualified to join their ranks as he did not meet the criteria of s. 6 of the Supreme Court Act. Had the government inadvertently made an appointment that did not comply with the…

Continue Reading

Categories

Counsel Notes

Contact us for a free consultation

  • MM slash DD slash YYYY
  • MM slash DD slash YYYY
  • Disclaimer: The use of the internet or this Form for communication with the firm or its lawyers and staff is not secure and does not establish a lawyer-client relationship. Do not send confidential or time-sensitive information through this Form. If you need to send this type of information please call us first.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Or call us at: 1-888-683-9621