Damages 2022

Course Chairs
Mark V.C. Virgin — Virgin Hickman, Vancouver
Gaynor C.C. Yeung — Whitelaw Twining Law Corporation, Vancouver

About the Course Chairs
Mark Virgin's practice focuses on civil, commercial, and administrative law. He has acted for individual and corporate clients in disputes ranging from personal injury claims, insurance disputes, product liability suits, professional negligence actions, family disputes, breach of contract, and breach of privacy.

Mark is active in numerous community and professional organizations. He serves as president of Anxiety Canada; a director on the board of the Courthouse Libraries Society of BC; director of the Museum of Vancouver; and has been twice co-chair of the CBA (BC Branch) annual conference. He is frequent presenter for CLE and CDL amongst others.

In July 2019, Mark formed Virgin Hickman with Carol Hickman, QC. Under his leadership, the firm has greatly expanded its capabilities and broadened the scope of the legal services it provides.

Gaynor Yeung is a litigator and mediator at Whitelaw Twining. She has been recognized by her peers as one of the Best Lawyers in Canada for her work both in Insurance Law and Personal Injury Litigation. Gaynor is serving her second term as an elected Bencher of the Law Society of BC.

Gaynor is an active volunteer in the legal community, providing pro bono work, lecturing at Allard Law, offering mediation courses through the VBA, and mentoring to both students and young practitioners. She has been recognized by the Vancouver Bar Association with the Peter S. Hyndman Mentorship award.

Faculty
The Honourable Mr. Justice Russell S. Brown — Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa
Jasmine Der — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver
Peter R.A. Grant — Peter Grant Law, Vancouver
Vincent P. Johnston — Harris & Company LLP, Vancouver
Reidar M. Mogerman, KC — Camp Fiorante Mathews Mogerman LLP, Vancouver
Dairn Owen Shane — Preszler Injury Lawyers, Vancouver
David Wotherspoon — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver
Joan M. Young — McMillan LLP, Vancouver

Course Materials Contributor
Natalia Vaia Tzemis — Harris & Company LLP, Vancouver

Click here for full faculty bios

Welcome and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 - 9:10)

Mark V.C. Virgin — Virgin Hickman, Vancouver
Gaynor C.C. Yeung — Whitelaw Twining Law Corporation, Vancouver

Emerging Trends in Awarding Damages in Defamation and Privacy Law (9:10 - 10:00)

• damages as an alternative to dueling
• harm from publication weighed against harm to expression
• trends in damages for online torts
• compensating cybersecurity theft of private information

Jasmine Der — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver
David Wotherspoon — Dentons Canada LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (10:00 - 10:10)

Emerging Issues in Class Action Damages (10:10 - 11:00)

• overview of framework for damage issues in class action litigation
  • where have we been and where are we going
• aggregate damages
  • discussion of recent Ontario Court of Appeal decision in Fresco v. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, 2022 ONCA 115
• no damages: the experience in privacy class actions
• on the horizon: UK tackles damages in collective action cases
  • UK decision in the credit cards case Mastercard Incorporated and others (Appellants) v. Walter Hugh Merricks CBE (Respondent), [2020] UKSC 51

Reidar M. Mogerman, KC — Camp Fiorante Mathews Mogerman LLP, Vancouver
Joan M. Young — McMillan LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (11:00 - 11:10)

Selected Damage Issues in Wrongful Dismissal (11:10 - 12:00)

• reasonable notice damages in wrongful dismissal
• the availability of similar employment during the COVID-19 pandemic
• mitigation
• collateral benefits
• aggravated and punitive damages

Vincent P. Johnston — Harris & Company LLP, Vancouver

LUNCH BREAK (12:00 - 1:00)

Indigenous Cultural Damages (1:00 - 1:50)

• dscussion of historical cases in which cultural damages have been sought
• need for understanding of clients' Indigenous cultures and impact on their position within their own Indigenous society and damages specific to the Indigenous  clients
• damages for the collective Indigenous society arising from Crown conduct                           

Peter R.A. Grant — Peter Grant Law, Vancouver

BREAK (1:50 - 2:00)

Medical Negligence: Myths, Legends, and Reality (2:00 - 2:50)

• the "scorched earth" legend: is it reality?
• choosing cases and clients
• standard of care: the first battleground
• informed consent: the second battleground
• causation—the death star

Dairn Owen Shane — Preszler Injury Lawyers, Vancouver

BREAK (2:50 - 3:00)

Making Sense of Cause-in-Fact (3:00 - 3:50)

The Honourable Mr. Justice Russell S. Brown — Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa

BREAK (3:50 - 4:00)

A "Fireside Chat" with Mr. Justice Russell Brown of the Supreme Court of Canada (4:00 - 4:25)

The Honourable Mr. Justice Russell S. Brown — Supreme Court of Canada, Ottawa
Mark V.C. Virgin — Virgin Hickman, Vancouver

Concluding Remarks (4:25 - 4:30)

Mark V.C. Virgin — Virgin Hickman, Vancouver
Gaynor C.C. Yeung — Whitelaw Twining Law Corporation, Vancouver