Credibility – Who Is Believed Wins

In Legal Definitions and Terms

Credibility is whoever is believed , usually wins the case.One can have the best of court cases, but if the Judge does not believe your client’s testimony, as there is no witnesses credibility, usually results in a lost trial.

The BC Court of Appeal in Faryna v. Chorney, [1952] 2 D.L.R. 354 (B.C.C.A.), . stated at page 357:

The credibility of interested witness,particularly in cases of conflict of evidence, cannot be gauged solely by the test of whether the personal demeanour of the particular witness carried conviction of the truth.

The test must reasonably subject his story to an examination of its consistency with the probabilities that surround the currently existing conditions.

In short, the real test of the truth of the story of a witness in such a case must be its harmony with the preponderance of the probabilities which a practical and informed person would readily recognize as reasonable in that place and in those conditions. …

Trevor Todd

Trevor Todd is one of the province’s most esteemed estate litigation lawyers. He has spent more than 45 years helping the disinherited contest wills and transfers – and win. From his Kerrisdale office, which looks more like an eclectic art gallery than a lawyer’s office, Trevor empowers claimants and restores dignity to families across BC. He is a mentor to young entrepreneurs and an art buff who supports starving artists the world over. He has an eye for talent and a heart for giving back.