Real Estate Litigation 2026
Course Date: April 10, 2026
Total: 6h
Total Ethics: 1h
Real Estate Litigation 2026
Course Date: April 10, 2026
Total: 6h
Total Ethics: 1h
Course Introduction and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:10)
Teresa Sheward — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver
Layne Hellrung — Cook Roberts LLP, Victoria
Wesley J. McMillan — Allen/McMillan Litigation Counsel, Vancouver
Wesley J. McMillan — Allen/McMillan Litigation Counsel, Vancouver
View from the Bench (9:10 – 9:40)
- tips on presenting complex facts and law in court
- condensed books of evidence and law
- use of demonstrative evidence
Justice Simon R. Coval — Supreme Court of BC, Vancouver
- a primer on CPLs and specific performance claims
- prosecuting and defending specific performance claims
- an application to discharge a CPL or obtain an undertaking/security
- damages claim for wrongful filing of the CPL
- recent case law, including Culos Development (1996) Inc. v. Baytalan, 2025 BCCA 265
Gigi Lo — Kornfeld LLP, Vancouver
Devin P. Lucas — Kornfeld LLP, Vancouver
Devin P. Lucas — Kornfeld LLP, Vancouver
BREAK (10:15 – 10:30)
The Poorly Drafted Contract of Purchase and Sale (10:30 – 11:00)
- the standard form contract—plenty of room for ambiguity
- how does the court determine meaning where the words used are obscure?
- examination of the modern approach to contract interpretation in the context of real estate transactions
- the special case of conditions precedent
- the doctrine of mistake
- when is rectification available as a remedy?
Layne Hellrung — Cook Roberts LLP, Victoria
Scott B. Twining — Twining, Short & Haakonson, Barristers, Vancouver
Scott B. Twining — Twining, Short & Haakonson, Barristers, Vancouver
Realtor Liability Files (11:00 – 11:40)
- single family home transactions:
- what is a realtor's standard of care?
- the potential role of the listing and other advertising
- expert reports—always required?
- development projects:
- the importance of causation when claiming loss of profit
- practice points:
- coverage issues when pleading
- plead a covered claim
- don't plead fraud unless you can provide sufficient particulars (Bon v. Keleher, 2017 BCSC 1132)
- if you have negligence, why plead fraud?
- insurers are not interested in arguments about "the cost of defending"—build your case or don't take it up
- the limited (i.e., prohibited) use of regulatory findings of misconduct
- the collapsed real estate deal—severance and postponement of the realtor negligence claim (Hoffman, 2025 BCSC 271)
- coverage issues when pleading
Oana C. Hyatt — Real Estate Errors and Omissions Insurance Corporation, Vancouver
Andrew P. Prior — Pihl Law Corporation, Kelowna
Andrew P. Prior — Pihl Law Corporation, Kelowna
Pre-Sale Litigation (11:40 – 12:10)
- acting for the purchaser(s)
- acting for the developer
- a potential tool—the purchaser's lien
Alina Chekh — Allen/McMillan Litigation Counsel, Vancouver
LUNCH (provided to in-person registrants) (12:10 – 1:10)
Disclosure and Misrepresentations (1:10 – 1:40)
- disclosure obligations in real estate transactions
- dangers of property condition disclosure statements
- Sewell v. Abadian, 2025 BCCA 158
Michael Drouillard — Drouillard Lawyers, Vancouver
Follow the Assets: Remedies in Real Estate Litigation (1:40 – 2:15)
- equitable compensation, an underutilized remedy providing opportunities for relief far beyond those traditionally sought
- tracing: a process with many tentacles available in varying circumstances
Dan Parlow — Kornfeld LLP, Vancouver
Selling the Tenanted Property (2:15 – 2:45)
- personal use notices by purchasers
- mutual agreement to end tenancy
- legal considerations when marketing properties
- listing and showing a tenanted property
Oscar Miklos — Refresh Law, Burnaby
BREAK (2:45 – 3:00)
Good Faith: Conditions Precedent and Contractual Discretion (3:00 – 3:30)
- the law of good faith and its application to conditions precedent contractual discretion
- the role of good faith in contract interpretation
Wesley J. McMillan — Allen/McMillan Litigation Counsel, Vancouver
Commercial Lease Disputes (3:30 – 4:00)
- a primer on remedies available to landlords and tenants in lease disputes
- the Aphria v. Canada Life Assurance case, including the duty to mitigate
- interim strategies pending SCC decision
Anna D. Sekunova — Clark Wilson LLP, Vancouver
Who Do You Work For? Practice Management Primer for Strata Corporation Clients (4:00 – 4:30)
- client identification and instructions
- navigating conflicts and conflict of interest on strata councils
- knowing your role at General Meetings and Council Hearings
- addressing strata council turnover
- getting paid and settling claims
- solicitor-client privilege and strata records
Lisa N. Mackie — Alexander Holburn Beaudin + Lang LLP, Vancouver
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Bringing and Defending Specific Performance Actions and CPLs
Slides: Certificates of Pending Litigation: A Guide for Practitioners
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