Converting a Petition to an Action
November 4th | 2018
Re Berkenbos Estate 2018 BCSC 1661 involved in application to revoke the issuance of a grant of probate and for an order that the revocation application be converted from a petition into an action. The court granted both orders. The deceased and her husband were… Read more
Intention is a Question of Fact
November 3rd | 2018
Law Society of BC v Brito 2018 BCCA 407 held inter aiia by the BC Appeal Court that the intention to create a trust is a question of fact. The trial judge had been asked to determine whether the parties funding agreements amounted to loans… Read more
Wills Variation Explained
November 1st | 2018
JR v JDM 2016 BCSC 2265 explained the criteria in assessing a wills variation claim. [81] The key provision of the WVA is s. 2 ( now Section 60 WESA) . That section provides that if, in the Court’s opinion, a will fails to make… Read more
Court Orders Trustee Removed
October 30th | 2018
Sheppe v Harlingten 2018 BCSC 1460 involved a court ordered removal of a trustee pursuant to the beneficiaries of the Harlingten trust which was established when they were children. Two beneficiaries of the trust lived in a residential property owned by the trust. The trustee… Read more
Extending the Counter Claim Deadline
October 29th | 2018
Syukur v Yeh 2018 BCSC 1826 deals with the time dead lines to file a counterclaim and the rules of court relating to the exercising of the court’s discretion to extend the time for filing. Pursuant to rule 3-4(1) the counterclaim should have been filed… Read more
Partial Summary Judgement Refused In Limitation Defence
October 28th | 2018
Barberio estate v Da Costa 2018 ONSC 6144 is an Ontario Supreme Court decision that refused to grant partial summary judgment on the matter relating to a limitation defence on the basis that credibility assessments and factual findings in limitation defenses need to be made… Read more
S.58 WESA Refused to Cure Defective Will
October 27th | 2018
Poulk Estate 2018 BCSC 1321 is a good review of the law relating to section 58 of WESA and after a review of the facts and law, found that the said curative provisions of section 58 could not be applied. The deceased was admitted to… Read more
Alcohol Related Dementia
October 23rd | 2018
Alcohol related dementia is one of a few lifestyle dementias that should be clear and present dangers to society as the numbers appear to be increasing. Anyone who has ever consumed alcohol to excess or witnessed it will know that common symptoms include slurring words,… Read more
Spousal or Child Support After Death
October 20th | 2018
Bouchard v Bouchard 2018 BCSC 1728 dismissed an application for lump sum child maintenance for monies held in the estate of the deceased to died intestate, but reviewed the law relating to continuing obligations to pay spousal or child maintenance after death and the impact… Read more
Amendment of Pleadings
October 16th | 2018
Stewart v Stewart 2018 BCSC 1266 discusses the law relating to the amendment of pleadings. The plaintiff applied to amend his notice of civil claim three months before the scheduled trial. The court followed its usual generous approach to granting leave in keeping with the… Read more
Suspicious Circumstances
October 15th | 2018
An important aspect of challenging the validity of a will due to lack of testamentary capacity is to look for suspicious circumstances which if found have the effect of shifting the onus of proof from a presumption of mental capacity to the propounder of the… Read more
The Equitable Defence of Laches and Acquiscence
October 14th | 2018
The equitable defence of latches and acquiescence serve to protect parties from claims were either by the lengthy delay in proceeding with the claim, a plaintiff’s conduct, a defendant’s reliance, or a combination of any one or more, cause it to be inequitable to permit… Read more
Privilege: Documents Made In Contemplation of Litigation
October 13th | 2018
In Hamalainen (Committee of) v. Sippola (1992) 2 WWR 132 the BC Court of Appeal outlined the law relating to privilege for documents that are prepared in contemplation of litigation. At issue is whether an insurance adjusters reports respecting a car accident that denied the… Read more
Summary Dismissal-Rule 9-6 (5)
October 12th | 2018
Copytrack Pte Ltd v Wall 2018 BCSC 1709 reviews the law relating to summary dismissal of a claim pursuant to Rule-9-6(5) of the Supreme Court Rules of Court. Rule 9-6 (5) provides: 5) on hearing an application under sub rule to or four, the court… Read more
The Equitable Doctrine of Rectification
October 11th | 2018
Rectification is an equitable remedy that can be granted were a mistake, either mutual or unilateral, has been made a legal document that does not accord with the true intention of the parties. Rectification is not a do over and like many equitable remedies, is… Read more