Wes McMillan

PARTNER

Wes loves the law almost as much as he loves the Winnipeg Jets. To his wife’s dismay, he records and watches Supreme Court of Canada hearings for fun. It is rare that a legal issue doesn’t pique Wes’ interest.

Wes is an experienced commercial litigator having made appearances before administrative tribunals, trial courts, the Court of Appeal and multiple appearances at the Supreme Court of Canada on a broad array of legal issues.

The primary focus of Wes' litigation practice is real estate and business disputes.  In his real estate practice, Wes has experience advising and litigating in respect of complex land assemblies, collapsing real estate deals, easements, restrictive covenants and statutory building schemes, to name a few.

When not thinking about the law, Wes enjoys staying active by running, curling, playing hockey (having missed out on an NHL career only by reason of a lack of size and talent), and trying to keep up with his two daughters.

Education

  • LLB (Dalhousie, 2005)

  • Called to the bar of British Columbia (2006)

Recognition

    1. Short v Ewachniuk, 2018 BCSC 1686 and 2021 BCSC 994: represented a businessman who established and grew a marina in Richmond, British Columbia in defending and bringing an oppression claim. After a 9-day petition hearing, the court ruled in favour of our client and valued his shares in the business at $1.45 million.

    2. Lam v Chiu, 2013 BCSC 1281, 2013 BCSC 34, 2012 BCSC 677, 2012 BCSC 442, 2012 BCSC 441, 2012 BCSC 440 and  2014 BCCA 32: represented a borrower in a complex case involving an undocumented loan and numerous interlocutory decisions on issues of practice and evidence.

    3. Travelers Guarantee Company of Canada v Farajollahi, 2012 BCSC 1283, 2013 BCSC 1165: represented a defendant in a case with significant credibility issues and allegations of forgery.

    1. Galiano Forest Lot Owners Association v Galiano Island Local Trust Committee, 2023 BCSC 1334: represented owners on a Gulf Island challenging restrictions on the use of their land.

    2. Aura Ventures Corp. v Vancouver (City), 2023 BCCA 209: represented owners in Vancouver alleging that the City of Vancouver owns a public parking lot in trust for the benefit of the owners who contributed to the cost of its acquisition and maintenance.

    3. 1120732 B.C. Ltd. v Whistler (Resort Municipality), 2019 BCSC 984, 2019 BCSC 752 and 2020 BCCA 101: represented an owner in Whistler challenging the local government's bylaws concerning the rental of strata lots in Whistler.

  • 567 Hornby Apartment Ltd. v Le Soleil Restaurant Inc., 2020 BCCA 69: represented a group of numbered companies and an individual in the leading decision concerning the assessment of special costs.

    1. 1155204 B.C. Ltd. v NV Highway Properties Ltd., 2024 BCSC 248: represented the purchasers in a failed real estate transaction that was converted to a share purchase.

    2. Zhang v Anderson Square Holdings Ltd., 2024 BCSC 216: represented purchasers of over 30 strata lots and obtained judgment of over $13 million for breach of contract against a developer who purported to terminate the pre-sale contracts and sell the units at higher prices.

    3. Luminary Holding Corp. v Fyfe, 2022 BCCA 185: represented a purchaser who had purchased property on which to develop a luxury resort.  Unbeknownst to him, pending changes to land use regulations made it such that the land could not be used for its intended purpose without significant time, expense and uncertainty. 

    4. Zhang v Amaral-Gurgel, 2017 BCSC 1561: represented a purchaser where a seller purported to rely on a "lawyer's approval" clause to terminate a contract. 

    5. 585582 B.C. Ltd. v Anderson, 2015 BCCA 261: represented a strata lot owner in the leading case concerning the enforceability of rental covenants in strata hotels.

    6. Tang v Zhang, 2013 BCCA 52: represented the appellants and convinced the Court of Appeal to overturn its earlier jurisprudence concerning whether forfeiture of a deposit requires proof that damages have been suffered.  This remains the leading case in Canada concerning the nature of effect of deposits in real estate contracts.

    7. Mazarei v Icon Omega Developments Ltd., 2012 BCSC 673: represented a group of purchasers of strata lots in a development in Edmonton, Alberta.  Wes argued successfully that British Columbia consumer protection legislation applied to the development despite that it was not located in British Columbia.  

  • Superintendent of Real Estate v Real Estate Council of B.C, 2018 BCSC 1500 and 2018 BCSC 2087: represented a real estate agent in a dispute between his two regulators. Wes successfully argued that, irrespective of the outcome, by reason of procedural unfairness, no further regulatory action could be continued against the real estate agent.

    1. King Day Holdings Ltd. v The Owners, Strata Plan LMS3851, 2020 BCCA 342: represented a strata corporation on appeal of a judgment concerning the allocation of common expenses.

    2. 356 Cathedral Ventures Ltd. v Owners of Strata Plan BCS3598, 2020 BCSC 1583: represented a commercial strata corporation and successfully defended a challenge to a shared parking policy.

    3. Barrett v The Owners, Strata Plan LMS3265, 2017 BCCA 414: represented a group of strata lot owners in the leading case concerning errors in strata plans.

    4. Santos v The Owners, Strata Plan LMS 1509, 2016 BCSC 1775: represented a group of owners in a large strata complex.  This was the first time that one obtained both a court-ordered special levy and appointment of an administrator in the same hearing.

    1. Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church of Canada St. Mary Cathedral v Aga, 2021 SCC 22: represented an intervener in a case concerning judicial review of religious organizations’ membership decisions.

    2. Owners, Strata Plan LMS 3905 v Crystal Square Parking Corp., 2020 SCC 29: represented an intervener in a case concerning whether positive obligations run with the land, and the law concerning adoption of a pre-incorporation contract.

    3. Uber Technologies Inc. v Heller, 2020 SCC 16: represented an intervener in the leading case on unconscionability in contracts of adhesion.

    4. Trinity Western University v Law Society of Upper Canada, 2018 SCC 33: represented an intervener in a case concerning a law society’s refusal to approve a proposed law school by reason of the university’s discriminatory community covenant that all students are required to sign.

    5. Law Society of British Columbia v Trinity Western University, 2018 SCC 32: represented an intervener in a case concerning a law society’s refusal to approve a proposed law school by reason of the university’s discriminatory community covenant that all students are required to sign.

Significant Cases

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