While most loan agreements and mortgages documents contain a contractual right allowing the lender to recover indemnity (actual) legal costs in foreclosure proceedings, the “usual rule” provides that costs in unopposed foreclosure matters are generally awarded on a party and party basis under Tariff Scale A. The net result of the “usual rule” is that…

Increasingly, scam victims have asked Watson Goepel LLP’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group to help recover funds stolen from a bank account. To do so, we have often sought an exceptional remedy known as a “Norwich Order” to track down information about where the stolen funds have gone and who is behind the accounts that…

Clients Paying Third Parties Using Their Lawyer’s Trust Account Watson Goepel LLP’s Litigation & Dispute Resolution Group was recently successful in clarifying how funds deposited in a lawyer’s trust account on behalf of a third party are treated. In successive successful hearings, we argued that when a company pays funds into a trust on behalf…

Raha Seyed Ali and Erika Hertz joined Watson Goepel LLP in June and July 2023 respectively. We are pleased to welcome them to our legal team. Raha Seyed Ali Raha Seyed Ali joined our Family and Immigration Law Groups as an Associate at Watson Goepel LLP. Prior to joining Watson Goepel, Raha worked at other…

In the dynamic and complex world of law, having a strong and capable legal team by your side can make all the difference. At Watson Goepel LLP, we take immense pride in announcing that several of our outstanding lawyers have been recognized as The Best Lawyers in Canada™ in the upcoming 2024 edition. This esteemed…

This article is part of a series of educational blog posts created by a team of Watson Goepel women lawyers in light of International Women’s Day 2023, to empower, celebrate, and encourage women in Canada. “Othering” refers to “viewing and treating a person or group of people as different from yourself and most people. Othering can lead to discrimination…

This article is part of a series of educational blog posts created by a team of Watson Goepel women lawyers in light of International Women’s Day 2023, to empower, celebrate, and encourage women in Canada.   In certain cultures, women are gifted substantially less under a will compared to their brothers.   In Prakash and Singh v Singh et al, 2006…

This article is part of a series of educational blog posts created by a team of Watson Goepel women lawyers in light of International Women’s Day 2023, to empower, celebrate, and encourage women in Canada.   Women continue to be statistically at a far greater risk of sexual violence in Canada. The Canadian Women’s Foundation summarizes statistics of gender-based…

This article is part of a series of educational blog posts created by a team of Watson Goepel women lawyers in light of International Women’s Day 2023, to empower, celebrate, and encourage women in Canada.   In May 2022, the Supreme Court of Canada (“SCC”) released two concurrent judgments for two cases dealing with circumstances where the accused was…

In British Columbia, condominium ownership is principally governed by a statutory regime found in the Strata Property Act (“SPA”). However historically, structures were developed to create land ownership and management rights outside of that legislative scheme. Cypress Gardens (a 177-unit residential complex located in the City of North Vancouver) is an example of what has…