CLE Online

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:10)

The Honourable Mr. Justice Geoffrey B. Gomery — Supreme Cour of BC, Vancouver
Peter R. Senkpiel — Nathanson Schachter & Thompson LLP, Vancouver

Unjust Enrichment: Principle or Cause of Action? (9:10 – 10:25)

• is unjust enrichment a legal test to be applied to proven facts?
• or is it a general principle that is implemented by different legal tests?
• summary of current debates and case law illustrations
• the relationship between unjust enrichment and money had and received as a practical illustration

Moderator: The Honourable Mr. Justice Geoffrey B. Gomery — Supreme Cour of BC, Vancouver
Professor Samuel Beswick — Peter A. Allard School of Law, UBC, Vancouver
Professor Lionel D. Smith — Director, Paul-André Crépeau Centre for Private and Comparative Law, Faculty of Law, McGill University, Montreal

BREAK (10:25 – 10:40)

Restitution for Wrongful Conduct and Related Topics (10:40 – 11:55)

• restitution v. disgorgement—what' the difference?
• discussion of the impact of Atlantic Lottery Corporation v. Babstock, 2020 SCC 19 on class actions in Canada
  • the plaintiff's perspective
  • the defence perspective

Alex Cocks — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver
Reidar M. Mogerman, QC — Camp Fiorante Matthews Mogerman LLP, Vancouver

LUNCH (11:55 – 12:30)

Defences to Restitutionary Claims (12:30 – 1:45)

• change of position
  • elements of the defence
  • scope of the defence; causation issues
  • is estoppel now irrelevant as a defence?
• illegality
  • the nature of the defence
  • recent developments at home and further afield
• the rest of the crowd: other defences to restitutionary claims 

Emily L. Hansen — Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP, Vancouver
Peter R. Senkpiel — Nathanson Schachter & Thompson LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (1:45 – 2:00)

Remedies (2:00 – 3:15)

• for what wrongs are gains-based remedies available?
• what causal connection need to be shown between a defendant's wrong and their loss/gain?
• the role of the equities
• the impact of Pirani v. Pirani, 2020 BCSC 947, 2020 BCSC 1711, 2021 BCSC 1530

Michael Feder, QC — McCarthy Tétrault LLP, Vancouver
Stephen R. Schachter, QC — Nathanson, Schachter & Thompson LLP, Vancouver

Closing Remarks (3:15 – 3:30)

The Honourable Mr. Justice Geoffrey B. Gomery — Supreme Cour of BC, Vancouver
Peter R. Senkpiel — Nathanson Schachter & Thompson LLP, Vancouver