A Mediation, for example, is an expensive process. Mediators regularly charge approximately $500.00 per hour which does not include the cost of the room rental, and transcribers/court reporters. Despite this, ICBC attends meretriciously: with no intentions of settling. At the same time, one must ask: why wouldn’t they abuse the system like this? They have, quite honestly, just hit the lottery with the inception of no fault insurance which promises them years and years of profits north of a billion dollars. And, as we all know, they are the only game in town; they have zero competition. Must be nice, right?

They dictate and take as they please.

The recent case of Putman v Putman, 2021 BCSC 1700, discussed the Power of Attorney Act and Representation Agreement Act and the applicable law to the aforementioned legal instruments. In this case, the petitioner, David Putman, and the respondent, Linda Putman, were brother and sister; they were jointly appointed as attorneys pursuant to an enduring power of attorney granted by their mother, Margaret Putman. The respondent has also been appointed as Margaret’s representative pursuant to a representation agreement made pursuant to s. 9 of the Representation Agreement Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 405 (the “RA Act”). The two siblings were unable to agree as to the appropriate medical treatment for their mother and likely more so, how best to deal with valuable real estate owned by their mother; alas, another case where finances get in the middle of sibling relationships.

In short, the main ingredient she required for her health - GS - was not contained in the ingredients. She, in sum, was taking the supplement for no reason. As such, a class action was brought forward.

Ultimately, the defendants settled the lawsuit for the sum of $600,000, among other things. In the above case, a class action was certified which then led to settlement negotiations.

In March 2020, the world ground to a halt as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Offices were shuttered, schools were closed, and in person meetings and gatherings were only permitted for essential purposes. Marilyn Bishop cancelled her appointment at her lawyer’s office to execute her new will. She had given her instructions, reviewed the draft, and made a few minor clarifications. All that remained was to have the will signed and witnessed. Ms. Bishop passed away before she could do so.

Three reasons why young families require a Will:

1. Who will take care of your child/children?

2. Who will manage your wealth, long-term and to the benefit of your child/children?

3. Who will manage your estate, short-term, on behalf of your infant children?

As of November 2018, the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (“ICBC”) ICBC was prepared to defend the action on the basis of a global admission of liability. The insurer subsequently changed its approach, and decided to globally deny liability. The admission of liability on behalf of Mr. Nijjar was not a mistake of fact, but rather the result of a breakdown of communication between ICBC and defence counsel. ICBC and defence counsel then failed to bring their mistake to the attention of the plaintiff’s counsel in a timely manner.

There has been growing community pressure for additional school capacity in Burke Mountain, which currently has a population of about 15,000 people. This will eventually grow to 50,000 residents when the neighbourhood is fully built out.

It may be that in a bygone era, a legal claim to privacy could be seen as an unnecessary concession to those who were reclusive or overly sensitive to publicity, though I doubt that that was ever an accurate reflection of reality. Today, personal data has assumed a critical role in people’s lives, and a failure to recognize at least some limited tort of breach of privacy may be seen by some to be anachronistic.

For that reason, this Court may well wish to reconsider (to the extent that its existing jurisprudence has already ruled upon) the issue of whether a common law tort of breach of privacy exists in British Columbia.

The interesting question of whether the law needs to be rethought will have to await a different appeal.

Denise, who is the oldest and lives in Ontario, is the child of Mr. Phillip’s first relationship.

Patricia and Jason, who live in B.C., are the children of his second relationship.

Avar, who lives in Trinidad, is the child of his third relationship.

Renee, who lives in B.C., is the child of his fourth relationship,

In rare but difficult circumstances, a lawyer may be ethically required to terminate a retainer agreement with a client. This may arise when issues arise where the lawyer reasonably believes that a client’s comments, wishes, demands, instructions, or otherwise conflict with the lawyer’s professional responsibilities and the appropriate Law Society’s Code of Ethics. In this Province, the Law Society of BC and its Code of Professional Conduct governs the ethical obligations of a lawyer.

On May 1, 2021, as you may know, ICBC’s new insurance regime came into force and effect. Concurrently, you may have received a $250.00 cheque in the mail and a 5%-15% reduction in your insurance costs.

A bribe, some may suggest.

Unsurprisingly, society tends to permit self-interest to dictate decisions. One example of this is no-fault. We as BC residents/citizens have had opportunities to fight against no-fault. However, most of BC was enticed, perhaps blinded, by the allure of lower insurance costs. As such, no-fault took force and effect.

For 3 individuals, the costs of no-fault have been crippling. These are their stories. This is the ugly truth of no-fault.

It is trite law that the solicitor-client relationship is characterized as a fiduciary relationship: Hodgkinson; Galambos v. Perez, 2009 SCC 48 at para. 36. The nature of fiduciary relationships is summarized in Hodgkinson at 405:

… it is only by having regard to the often subtle differences between these causes of action that civil liability will be commensurate with civil responsibility. For instance, the fiduciary duty is different in important respects from the ordinary duty of care … the presence of loyalty, trust, and confidence distinguishes the fiduciary relationship from a relationship that simply gives rise to tortious liability. Thus, while a fiduciary obligation carries with it a duty of skill and competence, the special elements of trust, loyalty, and confidentiality that obtain in a fiduciary relationship give rise to a corresponding duty of loyalty.