Once a Gift, Always a Gift?
In a decision handed down this week, the Court of Appeal attempted to clarify a question that has frustrated family law practitioners and clients alike: ... Continued
The Art of Not Mixing Personal and Professional: In-house Counsel and the Request for Legal Advice
In the workplace, it’s clear who we work for—our employer (that is, the company, the organization, the institution, that signs our paycheques). Even if we ... Continued
Student Litigant Update
In previous newsletters, we discussed two recent decisions of the BC Supreme Court involving civil lawsuits brought by university students against their institutions (SFU, and ... Continued
Report from the Annual Conference of the National Association of College and Universities Attorneys (“NACUA”)
June 2019, Denver, Colorado – Maybe inspired by this mile-high location, the annual NACUA conference was a mile-wide and a mile-deep: 1,800 attendees, over 90 ... Continued
Recent Changes to Pour Over Rules
The British Columbia Court of Appeal has held that a clause in a will directing estate property to be transferred to a trust that was ... Continued
Expanded Fiduciary Duties for Directors of CBCA Companies
The principles from the seminal case on directors fiduciary duties, BCE Inc. v. 1976 Debentureholders, 2008 SCC 69 (“BCE”), has finally been codified. In this ... Continued
Deliberate Alterations to a Will: Levesque Estate (Re), 2019 BCSC 927
A recent decision shows how the Court may find a will-maker’s handwritten changes to be legally effective. Whiting a Beneficiary Out of a Will In ... Continued
Latest from BC Supreme Court on the claims of specific performance and damages
In a recent case, Bajwa v. Habib, 2019 BCSC 721, the BC Supreme Court clarified the law with respect to whether a party that was ... Continued
When will the Court remove an Executor? Two recent decisions from the Supreme Court of British Columbia
Two recent BC Supreme Court decisions required the Court to determine when it is appropriate to remove an executor of an estate: Nieweler Estate (Re) ... Continued
The Changing Environment of Denials & Bad Faith Claims
This paper was initially authored for the Insurance Institute of British Columbia’s (IIBC) Insurance Symposium, April 2019. Over the course of the past two decades, ... Continued
Canadian Copyright Law Updates
This article reviews material developments in Canadian legislation, case law, and practice in the area of copyright in 2018. All references in this article to ... Continued
Case Comment – Modern Cleaning Concept Inc. v. Comité paritaire de l’entretien d’édifices publics de la région de Québec: Independent Contractors vs. Employees
The case of Modern Cleaning Concept Inc. v. Comité paritaire de l’entretien d’édifices publics de la région de Québec, 2019 SCC 28 provides the Supreme ... Continued