Civil Litigation Conference 2014


Course Date: March 27, 2014

Day 1: Thursday, March 27, 2014

Introduction

Sharon D. Matthews, QC — Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman, Vancouver
Reidar M. Mogerman — Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman, Vancouver

Technology on Trial

  • counsel and the court debrief from a trial at which documents were managed electronically
  • demonstration of the technology for exhibit management
  • tips for Luddite counsel
  • views from the bench

The Honourable Mr. Justice Elliott M. Myers — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
Robyn A. Jarvis — Sugden, McFee & Roos LLP, Vancouver
Michelle Maniago — Borden Ladner Gervais LLP, Vancouver

From eBay to BC: The Growing Use of Online Dispute Resolution

  • how and where online dispute resolution has been used
  • the Civil Dispute Resolution Tribunal and online dispute resolution
  • the growing use of technology in the Provincial Court (and what was learned from other jurisdictions)
  • how to advise your clients

The Honourable Chief Judge Thomas J. Crabtree — Office of the Chief Judge, Provincial Court of BC, Vancouver
Kerry L Simmons, QC — Cook Roberts LLP, Victoria
Darin Thompson — Legal Services, Ministry of Justice, Victoria

Networking Break

Taking All the Fun Out of a Good Conflict

  • CNR v. McKercher
  • practical issues for managing conflicts—British Columbia v. Imperial Tobacco
  • the client’s perspective

Anna K. Fung, QC — Vice President Legal, TimberWest Forest Corp, Vancouver
Gavin Hume, QC — Harris & Company LLP, Vancouver
Stephen R. Schachter, QC — Nathanson Schachter & Thompson LLP, Vancouver

Lunch (on your own)

Recent Developments in Class Proceedings

  • direct and indirect purchaser competition law cases—which causes of actions survived and why
  • the evidentiary basis for certification
  • class identification
  • aggregate damages

Geoffrey B. Gomery, QC — Nathanson Schachter & Thompson LLP, Vancouver
J. Kenneth McEwan, QC — Hunter Litigation Chambers, Vancouver
Reidar M. Mogerman — Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman, Vancouver

BC Ferry Agreements—Smooth Sailing?

  • is the Settlement Agreement compellable?—Sable Energy
  • compelling discovery from settling defendants and the growing use of Bar Orders
  • joint and several liability and allocation of fault and damages among the settling and non-settling defendants at trial
  • proposals for legislative reform

Beth Allard — Bull, Housser & Tupper LLP, Vancouver
Ariel DeJong — McCarthy Tetrault LLP, Vancouver
H. David Edinger — Singleton Urquhart LLP, Vancouver

Networking Break

Looking for Errors in All the Wrong Places

  • the importance of the standard of review
  • tailoring advocacy depending on the standard of review
  • view from the bench
  • update from the Chief Justice of British Columbia on the work of the Court of Appeal

The Honourable Chief Justice Robert J. Bauman — Court of Appeal for British Columbia, Vancouver
Tracey M. Cohen — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
John J.L. Hunter, QC — Hunter Litigation Chambers, Vancouver


Day 2: Friday, March 28, 2014

The 2010 Civil Rules: Everything Old is New Again

  • the perspective of the bench and the bar 3.5 years into the “New Rules”
  • proportionality—opportunities and pitfalls
  • issues the Rules Committee is looking at
  • pros and cons of returning to the “good ol days” as recalled by Chris Harvey in the September 2013 Advocate editorial

The Honourable Mr. Justice Nathan H. Smith — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
Jennifer J.L. Brun — Guild Yule LLP, Vancouver
H. William Veenstra — Jenkins Marzban Logan LLP, Vancouver

Why Are You Here? Mobility Rules for Canadian Lawyers

  • the regulatory framework
  • strategic advantages and disadvantages
  • views from the bench
  • being a good guest

The Honourable Mr. Justice David M Masuhara — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
D. Geoffrey Cowper, QC — Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, Vancouver
Katherine L. Kay — Stikeman Elliott LLP, Toronto

Networking Break

You Don’t Know What You Got and It’s Gone: The New Limitation Act

  • judicial consideration of the Act
  • contracting out of the Act
  • the ultimate limitation period
  • environmental land contamination claims

Lisa Martz — McCarthy Tetrault LLP, Vancouver
David McKenzie — Jenkins, Marzban, Logan LLP, Vancouver
Mark G. Underhill — Underhill, Boies Parker Law Corporation, Vancouver

But for the Jurisprudence We Would Understand Causation

  • causation
  • Clements
  • evidentiary issues
  • settlement

Jamie L. Thornback — Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman, Vancouver
Karen Jamieson — Murray Jamieson, Vancouver
Susanne K. Raab — Pacific Medical Law, Vancouver

Lunch with Featured Speaker

The Honourable Chief Justice Christopher E. Hinkson — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver

Management of Complex Cases: How Americans Eat Elephants and Canadian Elephant Eating: Federal or Provincial Jurisdiction?

  • US best practices
  • the evolution (or not) of Canadian large case management
  • why do cases take longer than they used to?
  • Canadian multi-jurisdiction cases: the HCV extraterritoriality cases

The Honourable Chief Justice Christopher E. Hinkson — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
Ward K. Branch — Branch MacMaster LLP, Vancouver
Josef D. Cooper — Cooper & Kirkham P.C., San Francisco, CA
Sharon D. Matthews, QC — Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman, Vancouver
Joel S. Sanders — Gibson, Dunn & Crutcheon, San Francisco, CA
Francis O. Scarpulla — Zelle Hofmann Voebel & Mason LLP, San Francisco, CA

Concluding Remarks

Sharon D. Matthews, QC — Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman, Vancouver
Reidar M. Mogerman — Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman, Vancouver