Robert Brun, KC and Ryan Monty were counsel for one of the respondents in Gill v. Seikham, 2025 BCCA 356, where the Court of Appeal provided a succinct analysis of the state of the law on liability in BC and dismissed the plaintiff’s appeal from the trial court finding that she was 20% contributorily negligent for the second of two accidents. Ryan was trial counsel and, in cross examination, elicited key evidence from the plaintiff about her own culpability in her second accident. Namely, she saw a vehicle behind her not slowing down, but was too close to the vehicle…
Category: Appeals and Judicial Review
November 6, 2025
Canadian Lawyer Magazine reports on HBLC’s successful appeal in loss of future earning capacity case.
Harris & Brun
Our colleagues Robert Brun, KC and Jennifer Brun, KC were counsel in King v. Karpenko, 2025 BCCA 357, where the BC Court of Appeal granted the appeal of the defendant from a trial finding awarding the plaintiff a future loss of capacity award on the basis of a hypothetical possibility. The case provides an instructive example of how courts should approach calculating future loss of capacity awards and was picked up for comment in Canadian Lawyer Magazine. Read the full article: BC Court of Appeal sees error in finding injured man likely to be police if not for accident. The…
Jennifer Brun, K.C. and Kirsti Jamison achieved an excellent result for the firm’s client in this Estate Law appeal: Barbieri v. White, 2025 BCCA 253. Jennifer was retained by the respondent, Ms. White, to defend an appeal brought by Mr. Barbieri, who had been removed as executor of his mother’s estate as a result of the chambers judge’s decision in Barbieri Estate v. White, 2024 BCSC 1357. The chambers judge found: The appellant had clearly favoured certain beneficiaries over others, namely himself and Steven Barbieri over Ms. White. As such, his conduct cannot be said to be in the best…
April 2, 2025
HBLC successful in preserving a 70% reduction in damages based on failure to mitigate.
Harris & Brun
In Padgham v. Ram, 2025 BCCA 100, Robert Brun, K.C., Jennifer Brun, K.C., and Colton Winiarski were successful for the respondents in the BC Court of Appeal. The appeal was regarding a trial court finding that a 70% reduction in damages should be applied to the appellant’s damages award. The appeal arose from an assessment of damages following a motor vehicle accident. The respondents had admitted liability but at trial, the judge reduced several heads of damage, including special damages, by 70% based on a finding that the appellant had failed to mitigate her losses by not taking advantage of…
May 4, 2021
Harris & Brun Successful at B.C. Court of Appeal Regarding Future Loss of Earnings
Harris & Brun
Jennifer Brun and Robert Brun, QC were successful on appeal regarding the use of gender-based statistics and assessment of the overall fairness and reasonableness of loss of capacity awards.
On January 27, 2017, Mr. Justice Funt of the Supreme Court of British Columbia overturned a master’s decision, which had incorrectly held that the court has no power to order a Plaintiff to sign a reasonable consent to treatment form. I acted as counsel representing the Defendants. His Lordship ruled that the courts of British Columbia most certainly CAN make such an order to give effect to the Supreme Court Civil Rules, including the right of a Defendant in a personal injury action to compel the Plaintiff to attend a medical assessment with the expert of his or her choice…