This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: Sentencing considerations for dangerous driving causing bodily harm: why do we sentence someone who drives dangerously and has an accident that causes serious bodily harm differently from someone who drives in the same way but is lucky and does not cause an accident? The Criminal Code sets […]
This week on legally speaking with Michael Mulligan: While attempting to count ballots for the election of a board of directors for the Shon Yee Benevolent Association things went sideways when water spilled on a table during the vote count. Once this was cleaned up it was unclear whether a disputed ballot had been […]
The mandatory ICBC no-fault insurance system that has been proposed for British Columbia is intended to save money by no longer spending time determining who was at fault in an accident. Someone who caused an accident would receive the same benefits as the person they crashed into. Disputes would, however, still arise with respect […]
Because the British Columbia provincial election was called suddenly none of the political parties have candidates nominated in all ridings. As a result of COVID-19, many people have also requested mail-in ballots. Without candidates having been determined yet, the mail-in ballots being distributed simply have a blank space to write in the name of the […]
The premier of a province doesn’t actually have the authority to call an election. Authority to dissolve the legislature and call an election resides with the Lieutenant Governor. Ordinarily, the Lieutenant Governor would call an election at the request of the premier. In unusual circumstances, such as those that currently exist in British Columbia, […]
This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: As schools attempt to reopen for in-person instruction, amidst increasing COVID-19 infection rates, disputes between separated parents over sending children back to school have started showing up in court. Disputes of this kind are analyzed based on the best interest of the child. In a recent […]
This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: A claim for an alleged breach of contract to rent a property so as to permit it to be used as an Airbnb is denied on the basis that the short-term rentals are not lawfully permitted. Contracts involving illegal activity are not enforceable in court. You […]
This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: Two fathers have filed a petition in the British Columbia Supreme Court to prevent schools from reopening without adequate COVID-19 safety protocols. In order to permit schools to reopen, the latest provincial Public Health Act order that sets out safety requirements for virtually any public gathering […]
This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: In 2018 a BC man made an agreement to sell 50 bitcoins for $10,700 each for a total of $535,000. The purchaser didn’t complete the purchase of the bitcoin, so the prospective seller sued. The person who was sued claimed that he didn’t enter into the […]
This week on Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan: A long-running neighbour dispute over garbage, grass clippings, dog feces, a dead snake on a trampoline, and a retaining wall consumes 13 days of court time and results in a $16,000 award. One of the feuding neighbours spray painted and then jackhammered a concrete retaining wall […]