Tag Archives: BC Court of Appeal

July 4, 2016

Landlord not liable for fire losses after failing to install smoke alarm

By Elton Law of Clark Wilson LLP

Jennifer Loeb was successful in the BC Court of Appeal on behalf of an insured landlord following a house fire in a rental property. The court found that failing to install a smoke alarm does not automatically render the landlord liable for fire losses. Congratulations to Jennifer and the team. Read the reasons for judgement to learn more.

Posted in News | North America
Read full article
May 14, 2016

Estop and Think Before Relying on Future Estate Interests

By Mark Weintraub of Clark Wilson LLP

Proprietary estoppel is a legal doctrine that protects parties who detrimentally rely on assurances made by others about their property.  The doctrine is intended to prevent parties from profiting by misleading others.

While the former English interpretation of proprietary estoppel was stringent and specific, recent Canadian decisions have crafted more liberal criteria for applying the doctrine.  However, the recent decision of Cowper-Smith v Morgan, 2016 BCCA 200 [Cowper-Smith] might signal a return to a more-stringent application of proprietary estoppel.

Posted in Legal Updates | North America
Read full article
March 16, 2016

Strata owners—not strata administrators—hold the power to pass bylaws and unanimous resolutions

By Clark Wilson of Clark Wilson LLP

Pat Williams was successful at the BC Court of Appeal in the first bench interpretation of a Strata Property Act section that relates to owner democratic rights. The BCCA found in our favour that a strata administrator may not circumvent, via a court application, an individual owner’s voting rights. Owner consensus must be obtained before passing a bylaw or unanimous resolution.View the court summary.

 

Posted in North America
Read full article
December 15, 2015

Bill Holder was successful in BC Court of Appeal

By Clark Wilson of Clark Wilson LLP

Bill Holder was successful in the BC Court of Appeal yesterday following a lengthy dispute between our client, a large commercial landlord, and an anchor tenant of the Hub Centre in Westbank. B.C. The dispute concerned the tenant’s ongoing responsibility for the payment of its proportionate share of property taxes. The appeals court upheld the trial court’s judgement in favour of our client and confirmed the anchor’s obligation to pay taxes based on the landlord’s calculation of same.

Posted in News | North America
Read full article