In our last blog on the subject, we noted that court can be a bad place to resolve differences. Nobody likes to go to court. We recognize this and take every opportunity to settle the claims of our civil litigation clients outside of court. But sometimes there is very little choice. If you have a claim for damages, or are being sued, you will need a lawyer who has the skill to deliver an appropriate verdict in the courtroom. As you can see from the Harris & Brun court wins we have listed below, and the ones referred to in…
Category: Civil Litigation
Nobody likes to go to court. However, if you have to take your case to court, the following results show that Harris & Brun Law Corporation has one of the finest lineups of courtroom lawyers in the province, perhaps even in the whole country. The following successes of Harris & Brun trial lawyers are documented in chronological order. As you will see from these results, our trial lawyers are equally adept at succeeding for defendants and plaintiffs. In Sherrell v. ICBC, 2019 BCSC 103, a case which was defended by Lyle Harris, the plaintiff sued ICBC for a declaration that…
If your partner or confidant meets your lawyer along with you, you have waived privilege. Suppose you have started a lawsuit because someone has caused you harm or owes you money. You hire a lawyer who issues a Notice of Civil Claim on your behalf. The day approaches for your examination for discovery and your lawyer calls you in for an appointment to prepare you for your examination. Like most clients, you are a little bit nervous talking to your lawyer and you decide you want to bring your partner or best friend with you to sit in on…
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…
On November 30, 2011, the Vancouver Police Department announced that 25 people face a total of 61 charges for allegedly taking part in the June 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot. Crown Counsel approved the charges against the suspected rioters who came from all areas of the lower mainland of British Columbia and Seattle. Vancouver Police told local media that charges were recommended after new technology created a searchable database of 30,000 YouTube videos and Facebook images. This database enabled police to find matching evidence of suspects and crimes. In October of 2011, a similar situation occurred in England, where a…
Civility may be defined as each person’s entitlement to be treated with dignity, respect and common sense. It is the glue that holds a democratic society together. Civility is a hallmark of the Bar in British Columbia and elsewhere in Canada. Even during the most contested battles, most lawyers on either side of a case refer to each other as “my friend” or “my learned friend”. I believe this is a reflection of the lines from Shakespeare where Tranio advises the fellow suitors for Bianca to “do as adversaries do in law. Strive mightily, but eat and drink as friends”….
In Ontario, a client has sued her former lawyer for the costs awarded against the client in a suit the former lawyer launched against three judges, accusing the judges of conspiracy and fraud. According to a release from Canadian Legal Newswire May 31, 2010, the action against the three judges was dismissed, As a consequence of the dismissal, the client and her lawyer were ordered to pay $100,000 in assessed costs: half to be paid by the client, and half by the lawyer. In our own province, the Court of Appeal recently upheld a trial judge’s ruling that a lawyer…
January 29, 2010
The 2009 edition of Lyle Harris’ book Discovery Practice in BC is now available from CLEBC
Robert C Brun
An essential resource for civil litigators, Lyle’s revision to his classic text, Discovery Practice in British Columbia (Vancouver, CLEBC) is now available through CLEBC. This update incorporates the incoming amendments to the BC Rules of Court and covers developments in the case law over the last year including: The Supreme Court of Canada’s decision in Juman v. Doucette and the implied undertaking not to use discovered evidence outside an action. Discoverability vs. privacy of documents on social networking websites. Expanded analysis of electronic documents and metadata. New case law on lists of documents, privilege, production of computer hard drives, jurisdiction…