Case Law › Court of Appeal of British Columbia

[1] Harris J.A.: This appeal arises out of the dismissal of a negligence action. The principal issue at trial was whether the defendant, Waterway, breached the standard of care owed to the plaintiff, Ms. Oddy, in the selection of a particular type of rope used to moor houseboats on Shuswap Lake. This question arose as the result of injuries Ms. Oddy suffered when a stake embedded in a beach, and...

[1] This is an appeal by the Superintendent of Motor Vehicles (the Superintendent) from an order revoking a two-month driving suspension imposed under s. 93(1)(a)(ii) of the Motor Vehicle Act, R.S.B.C., c. 318 [MVA].

[1] This is an appeal from an order of Justice Brundrett, pronounced May 11, 2018, dismissing the appellant's petition for a declaration that the respondent strata corporation must obtain supermajority approval of the owners before listing a strata complex (comprising both the strata units and the common property) for sale. In reasons for judgment indexed as Buckerfield v. The Owners of Strata...

[1] Goepel J.A.: This appeal arises from a debt claim for vegetable seedlings that the appellant, Grewal Farms Inc. (“Grewal Farms”), bought from the respondent nursery, Berlo Farms Ltd. (“Berlo”), between August 2013 and July 2015. Mr. Justice Funt ordered Grewal Farms to pay Berlo $46,459.49 plus pre-judgment interest. The trial reasons are indexed at 2018 BCSC 467.

[1] This appeal concerns Ms. Duggan's failed application for an order allowing her to move with the parties' son, now five years old, from their usual place of residence in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, to the Lower Mainland region. By the application, Ms. Duggan sought to complete a program of studies at Simon Fraser University directed to qualifying her for remunerative...

[1] This appeal concerns the conduct of public officers in regulating the export of water for commercial purposes in British Columbia in the 1980s and 1990s. The respondent, Rain Coast Water Corp., through its principal, Colin Beach, was deeply dissatisfied with that conduct, which he considered unfair, unreasonable and harmful to his fledgling water export enterprise. After complaining for many...

[1] Canada applies for a further extension of a suspension of a declaration of constitutional invalidity. The general background of the matter was set out in an earlier judgment of the Court, 2019 BCCA 177:

[1] Abrioux J.A.: This appeal arises from an interim application (the “application”) in a family proceeding, which was heard on September 13, 2018, and in which the appellant sought interim child and spousal support and a financial restraining order.

[1] Jason Billing appeals his conviction for aggravated assault. He contends that errors in the judge's charge to the jury led them to reject his claim that he was acting in self-defence when he stabbed Kevin Markland, and resulted in an unjust verdict. In issue are the amended self-defence provisions of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46, brought into effect in March 2013.

[1] On June 13, 2019, in reasons indexed as 2019 BCCA 219, we extended to June 28, 2019, a suspension of a declaration of constitutional invalidity in respect of certain provision of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, S.C. 1992, c. 20. The declaration of constitutional invalidity had been issued by a trial judge, and had been extended by this Court, on conditions, in two earlier...

[1] The Superintendent of Motor Vehicles and the Attorney General of British Columbia (collectively the “Superintendent”) appeal an order that, on judicial review of an adjudicator's decision to uphold an immediate roadside driving prohibition (“IRP”) issued to the respondent Christine Adams, set aside the IRP and remitted the matter for reconsideration. On appeal, the Superintendent submits the...

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[1] This appeal calls upon us to determine whether the Chairperson of the British Columbia Review Board (“BC Review Board”), is entitled to constitutionally-protected judicial independence. That issue is the last unresolved question arising out of a dispute between the appellant and the respondent with respect to the manner in which the Chairperson is remunerated by the Province.

[1] D. Smith J.A.: The Crown applies to dismiss Mr. Muir's appeal from conviction and application for leave to appeal his sentence relating to those convictions for want of prosecution and/or for repudiation of the Court's jurisdiction, pursuant to s. 13(1) of the Criminal Appeal Rules. Section 13(1) provides:

[1] The issue on this appeal involves the eligibility of a product described as an insulated metal wall panel (“IMP”) for an exemption from provincial sales tax under s. 30(a) of the Provincial Sales Tax Exemption and Refund Regulation, B.C. Reg. 97/2013 (the “Regulation”).

[1] Butler J.A.: The appellant, 311165 BC Ltd., appeals the dismissal of its claims in fraud and unjust enrichment against Michael Derewenko. The respondent was the president, director and sole shareholder of General Cedar Products Ltd. (“General Cedar”). The appellant previously obtained a judgment against General Cedar, but was unable to collect on that judgment. It commenced and proceeded with

[1] Lyle William Baker, Dustin Lindgren and Kevin Zaporoski appeal their convictions for the murder of Jordan Reno, following a 43-day trial in the Supreme Court of British Columbia before Justice Tindale and a jury. Messrs. Baker and Lindgren were convicted of first degree murder. Mr. Zaporoski was convicted of second degree murder.

[1] This Court allowed the appeal in reasons indexed as Baryla v. Baryla, 2019 BCCA 22. The parties have filed supplemental submissions on the issue of costs, as the respondent submits that there was divided success and the parties should bear their own costs.

[1] The main issue on appeal is whether a judge has discretion to decline to decide an application for removal of a party when the capacity of that party to be sued is in issue. The appellant, Her Majesty the Queen in right of the Province of British Columbia (the “Crown”), contends the judge did not have such discretion and, even if he did, he exercised it based on irrelevant considerations.

[1] The appellant appeals the denial of certification of an action under the Class Proceedings Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 50 [CPA]. This appeal requires consideration of the requirement that to obtain certification as a class proceeding, a plaintiff must show some basis in fact that each of the statutory requirements has been met. The narrow issue concerns the standard to be met when seeking to...

[1] The issue on this appeal is whether Doris Wong (Ms. Wong) is an insured under an insurance policy issued by the appellant, Optimum West Insurance Company Inc. (“Optimum”) to Mr. Ho Cheung Wong (Mr. Wong) and his wife, Ms. Bing Lai (Ms. Lai). The answer to that question requires a determination as to whether Ms. Wong was a “Residence Employee” as defined in the Optimum policy.

[1] Newbury J.A.: The Crown appeals a sentence of imprisonment for two years less a day, imposed on Mr. Do, a first-time offender, upon his conviction on five charges — unlawful possession of heroin for the purposes of trafficking; unlawful possession of cocaine for the purposes of trafficking; unlawful possession of methamphetamine; possession of an unloaded prohibited firearm (i.e., a Smith &

[1] The protection of the environment is one of the driving challenges of our time. No part of the world is now untouched by the need for such protection; no government may ignore it; no industry may claim immunity from its constraints. This reference is not about whether the planned Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (“TMX”) should be regulated to minimize the risks it poses to the environment —...

[1] This appeal arises under the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement (“IRSSA” or “the Agreement”). Through the inadvertence of his counsel (not counsel on this appeal), the appellant, Ronnie Gail Scout, submitted his application for compensation under the Independent Assessment Process (“IAP”) on September 20, 2012 rather than on the commonly understood deadline of September 19, 2012.

[1] In oral reasons for judgment, indexed as 2019 BCCA 95, we allowed the appeals to the limited extent that the order granting injunctive relief be varied to take into account the risk of the parties being adversely affected by any difficulty ensuring compliance with the relevant Building Scheme or municipal bylaws, and to remove a reference to special costs to reflect the intention of the order

[1] The issue on this appeal is whether the judge erred when she refused to strike out the respondent's personal injury claim against his landlord, finding it was not barred by either the doctrine of res judicata or the expiry of the limitation period.

[1] This litigation concerns the constitutionality of the provisions of the Corrections and Conditional Release Act, S.C. 1992, c. 20 that authorize administrative segregation of inmates. On January 17, 2018, the trial judge held that ss. 31, 32, 33, and 37 of the Act violate ss. 7 and 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. He declared the impugned sections to be unconstitutional, but

[1] Regrettably, Willoughby Perry Lott Drake is a 58-year-old prolific offender.

[1] The central issue on this appeal is the constitutionality of a clause (the “Clause”) in the respondent City of Burnaby's terms of public tender for bids on its infrastructure construction work. The effect of the Clause was to exclude bids from contractors involved in litigation against the City in the two years before the tender closing date.

[1] The Police Complaint Commissioner (“PCC”) applies for intervenor status on this appeal. The appellants are members of the Vancouver Police Department. The respondent is the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia (“IIO”), a civilian-lead oversight agency responsible for conducting investigations into police actions resulting in death or serious bodily harm. The central issue in...