20 Law
Daily business news at www.biv.com August 30–September 5, 2011
Active court case: Lawyers have not been just sitting on their hands over the years from Lawsuit, 19
Former B.C. attorney general Barry Penner believes that a recent Supreme Court of Canada judgment will help a lawsuit that the provincial government launched against large tobacco companies focus on the wrongful conduct of the tobacco industry
companies. “Its right out of Dickens’ Bleak House.” That Dickens novel, published in instalments in 1952 and 1853, documented longrunning litigation in England’s Court of Chancery. “If somebody came here from another planet, it would be hard to explain why things have taken so long. It really goes to show you what’s wrong with our system when it takes that long to resolve a particular issue,” Oppal told BIV. “You wonder after a while what the purpose of it all is.” He stressed, however, that B.C.’s lawsuit against big tobacco companies will not be thrown out of court for taking so long. That’s because lawyers have been
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active providing discoveries and making arguments to various courts. They have not been sitting on their hands, he said. Some success is that Victoria and the tobacco manufacturers have resolved disputes surrounding constitutional and jurisdictional issues. In September 2005, the SCC confirmed the constitutional validity of B.C.’s 2001 law, the Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act, which B.C. specifically implemented to allow it to pursue the recovery of health-care costs from big tobacco companies. Victoria then launched a similarly named but broader Health Care Costs Recovery Act in 2008, which came into effect April 1, 2009. That act compels lawyers and insurers to notify the B.C. government each time they launch a lawsuit where costs have been incurred by the provincial health-care system because of possible third-party wrongdoing.
“If somebody came here from another planet, it would be hard to explain why things have taken so long. It really goes to show you what’s wrong with our system when it
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takes that long to resolve a particular issue” – Wally Oppal, former attorney general, Province of British Columbia
Victoria may then join the action to ensure the ministry’s right to recover the health-care costs is preserved. If it is appropriate, the government can also launch its own action. Between April 1, 2009, a nd Apri l 30, 2011, t he Health Care Costs Recovery Act spurred the province to open 8,153 cases, according to the B.C. Ministry of the Attorney General. Of those, 2,814 cases have been closed and the province has recovered $6.2 million. That includes $2.4 million in the first year and $3.8 during the fiscal year 2010-11. • gkorstrom@biv.com
Trouble
BUYER’S ALERT Companies listed below,
which are not members of the Better Business Bureau, have failed to respond, as of August 19, 2011, to Better Business Bureau of Mainland B.C.’s efforts to mediate complaints from August 1 to August 12, 2011. In some instances, the company may have taken care of the complaint and considered the matter closed, or may believe the complaint is unjustified; however, if the BBB has not received a response, records cannot reveal either position. Please note that BBB members must respond to customer complaints that are brought to their attention. Source: BBB. 1 Stop Drycleaning Services, Delta Aarons Sales and Lease, Surrey Baby Planet Boutique, Salmon Arm Budget Rent A Car Of B C Ltd., Richmond Cleaning Connect, Surrey Craftwood, Langley Dating Site Builder, Vancouver Delaware Design, New Westminster Dial An Appliance Service Ltd., New Westminster dvdlink.ca, Surrey E Q 3, Vancouver Empire Vehicle Solutions Inc., Surrey Enjoy & TV, Burnaby European Smarthome Construction, Summerland Heritage Mountain Interiors, Abbotsford Imozi Canada Inc., Vancouver Indulge Living, Vancouver Integrated Combat Equipment Inc., North Vancouver Jolly Days Fashion, Burnaby Klahanie Development Ltd., West Vancouver Lenscrafters, Burnaby Lifan Canada, North Vancouver Lifetime Carpentry, Surrey Nails Sky, Richmond Nomorerack Retail Group, Vancouver Nor Pac Marketing, New Westminster Oceanside Mechanical Ltd., Coquitlam Onsite Digital Photography, Langley Openboxco.com, Surrey Our Little Secret Corp., Vancouver Patterson Plumbing & Heating, Abbotsford Peoples Card Services, Vancouver Petcetera (Head Office), Richmond PG Dynamic Tune-Up & Auto Repair, Prince George Pitt Meadows Athletic Club, Pitt Meadows Pocket Bike Canada, Richmond ProTrade Global Markets, Surrey Racket Shack, North Vancouver Rani Iron and Aluminum Works Ltd., North Vancouver Rollies.com, Vancouver Shaw Cablesystems Ltd.,
Kelowna Sina Travel & Tours, Richmond Skyline Motel Kamloops, Kamloops Smartone Services, Vancouver Star Rebates, Burnaby Sunsations Tanning, Vancouver The Pretty Boutique, Vancouver The Running Room, Maple Ridge Tip Top Tailors, Langley Top Quality Home Service, Burnaby Top Tech Computer Inc., Richmond Valley Blinds Inc., Surrey Willow Dental Care, Langley The following companies have responded to the BBB subsequent to being published: Antiquity Day Spa, Port Coquitlam Canada China Air Express Inc., Richmond CrossRoads Management Ltd., Surrey Devon Arnold Painting, North Vancouver Lewis Mechanical Group Ltd., Langley Michelin North American (Canada) Inc., Langley Newport Vacuums Inc., Port Moody Spotlight Jewellers Inc., Abbotsford Stock Market Magic, Vancouver
Who’s Getting Sued These corporate writs were
filed with the B.C. Supreme Court registry in Vancouver. Information is derived from notices of civil claim. Civil claims have yet to be proven in court. Defendants: Amco Energy Ltd. and Manjit Singh Sahota and John Doe #1 and John Doe #2 2500–10104 103 Ave., Edmonton and 1121 King George Blvd., Surrey Plaintiff: Bank of Montreal 8156 Main St., Vancouver Claim: $318,700 related to a counterfeit cheque; an accounting; a tracing; damages for conversion of funds; a injunction; and a declaration and order that any interest in assets are held in trust for the bank. Defendants: Glentech Developments Ltd. and Glentech Transport Ltd. and Glentech Western Group Ltd. and Lorraine Brown and Randy Walter Brown aka Randy Brown and Ranta Enterprises Ltd. 305–2692 Clearbrook Rd., Abbotsford and 102–5300 50 St., Stony Plain, AB and 29665 Sangara Ave., Abbotsford Plaintiff: Roynat Inc. 300–666 Burrard St., Vancouver Claim: $230,537 for a judgment from the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta against Glentech Developments, Glentech Transport, Glentech Western Group, Lorraine Brown and Randy Walter
Brown; $213,142 against Ranta; and a declaration the plaintiff is entitled to take possession of leased goods. Defendants: Ram Construction Ltd. and Gurdawara Sahib Dasmesh Darbar 7881 128 St., Surrey and 7938 128th St., Surrey Plaintiff: Westrade Electric Ltd. 200–879 Marine Dr., Surrey Claim: $148,316 for electrical services and materials for the construction of a community centre; and a builder’s lien for $148,316. Defendants: Hong Che aka Judy Che and Wei Guo Chen Box 12077, 2250–555 W. Hastings St., Vancouver Plaintiff: Royalty Group Realty Inc. Box 42290, 700–595 Burrard St., Vancouver Claim: $118,048 for breach of a listing contract; a declaration that La Van Lack Atmore, Barristers and Solicitors, holds $118,048 in trust for Royalty; and an order. Defendants: Gillian Hoi Lam Poon and Tony Ka Chun Chang 1607–9133 Hemlock Dr., Richmond Plaintiffs: Wan’s Holdings Ltd. and EEC Online Ltd. and Efunfactory Distribution Ltd. 300–5900 No. 3 Rd., Richmond Claim: $113,481 for loans. Defendant: Evergreen Power Corp. carrying on business as EPC Renewables Corp. 800–885 W. Georgia St., Vancouver Plaintiff: Pricewater houseCoopers LLP 700–250 Howe St., Vancouver Claim: $76,288 for debt related to tax services. Defendant: David Taylor 440–755 Burrard St., West Vancouver Plaintiff: J. Wong Inc. 301–1080 Howe St., Vancouver Claim: $73,099 for income tax services. Defendants: Empirica Energy Inc. and British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority and Bernard Aaron Rokstad and Christopher John Hardwick 211–1015 Austin Ave., Coquitlam and 333 Dunsmuir St., Vancouver and 4990 217B St., Langley and 1114 Dublin St., New Westminster Plaintiff: 0713318 B.C. Ltd. dba Retro Specialty Contractors 1400–1125 Howe St., Vancouver Claim: $71,627 for debt related to fibre-reinforced polymer for microwave station projects; and a builder’s lien for $71,627. Defendants: Ditner