Allen / McMillan appearing at the Supreme Court of Canada in October 2023

On October 16, 2023, Greg, David and Chloe will be appearing at the Supreme Court of Canada in R v Edwards et al, a case involving whether military court martials satisfy the constitutional guarantee of an independent and impartial tribunal.

Our team will be representing the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, and urging the Supreme Court of Canada to overturn a 1992 decision in which it limited the scope of the right to be tried by an independent and impartial tribunal in the context of the military justice system.

For those who enjoy both constitutional rights and early mornings, the hearing will be streamed live through the Supreme Court of Canada’s website.

For more information on Allen / McMillan’s pro bono public law practice, please contact Greg at greg@amlc.ca.

Congrats to Greg, Wanda, and Wes for being recognized in the 2024 Edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada™

Several members of our AMLC team have been recognized in the 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in Canada™! Based entirely on peer review, Greg Allen has been included for his expertise in Corporate and Commercial Litigation, and Defamation and Media Law, Wanda Simek has been included for her expertise in Insurance Law, and Wes McMillan has been included for his expertise in Corporate and Commercial Litigation, and Real Estate Law. This is the first time Greg and Wanda were recognized by this publication, and Wes’ third year in a row.

Congratulations to Greg, Wanda, and Wes!

You can learn more about Best Lawyers®, a peer review publication and a source of legal referrals, on their website, www.bestlawyers.com

Alina Chekh wins penalty petition at BC Supreme Court

Alina simultaneously successfully brought and defended a petition for judicial review on behalf of her client, the Chief Inspector of Mines.

The two petitions before the Court address the construction of s. 36.6(1) of the Mines Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 293 (the “Act”) in the context of an administrative monetary penalty. In her petition, Alina challenged the finding of the Environmental Appeal Board that the penalty was statute-barred by the limitation period in the Act. Alina’s challenge to the underlying decision was successful. A corresponding judicial review application by the recipient of the administrative monetary penalty was unsuccessful.

To read the decision, visit 2023 BCSC 1328. For more information on Allen / McMillan’s administrative law practice, please contact Alina at alina@amlc.ca.

Congratulations to Kaitlyn Meyer for joining the partnership at AMLC!

Congratulations to Kaitlyn Meyer for joining the partnership at Allen / McMillan Litigation Counsel as of July 1st!

Kaitlyn joined the firm shortly after it opened in 2018, and has a rare enthusiasm for the law that allows her to thrive when faced with complex cases. With a broad commercial litigation practice, and appearances before administrative tribunals, the International Court of Arbitration in New York, all levels of court in British Columbia, and the Supreme Court of Canada, Kaitlyn’s experience has been an incredible asset to the team.

It is with great pleasure that we announce that Kaitlyn has joined Greg and Wes as a Partner of the firm.

Greg Allen and Kaitlyn Meyer Successfully Defend Appeal

Greg and Kaitlyn successfully defended an appeal of their win at trial — a judgement dismissing the appellants’ claims of not one, but two actions.

At trial, the Court ruled in favour of the defendants and dismissed the entirety of the plaintiffs’ claims in the two underlying actions, including the finding that they were statute barred and amounted to an abuse of process. The trial decision can be found here and our prior post about is here.

The Court of Appeal found that the trial judge did not fall into a palpable and overriding error by concluding that he could not give weight to the opinion of the appellants’ expert, which depended on an unproven assumption. As a result, it was open to the trial judge to conclude, based on the evidence before him, that the principal of one of the loans at issue was not repaid in 2006. Further, the Court of Appeal upheld the trial judge’s findings that the New Westminster Action was statute barred. In doing so, the Court of Appeal also held that there was a clear alternate basis, separate from the limitation issues, supporting the dismissal of the claims.

For more information on this case, visit 2023 BCCA 262. For more information on Allen / McMillan’s commercial litigation and appellate advocacy practices, please contact Greg at greg@amlc.ca and Kaitlyn at kaitlyn@amlc.ca.

John Trueman wins application for a stay of proceedings

In this case, John successfully applied to stay a civil proceeding until related family proceedings could be heard and determined. John’s client is engaged in high-conflict family litigation with his ex-spouse, who also brought a civil claim against John’s client seeking similar orders as she is seeking in the family litigation.

John successfully argued that there is no benefit to tying up court resources through two proceedings seeking the same relief at the same time, and that the interests of justice favoured a stay of proceedings in the civil claim. In the result, the plaintiff’s application to move forward with discovery in the civil claim was dismissed, and John’s application for a stay of proceedings was granted.

For more information on this case, visit 2023 BCSC 1159. For more information on Allen / McMillan’s civil litigation practice, please contact John at john@amlc.ca.