Court of Appeal - Recently Posted Judgments

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Recently Released Judgments

This webpage lists judgments recently released by the Court of Appeal and provides links to copies of those judgments.

Some of the Court's judgments may be subject to publication bans. The Court of Appeal will not publish reasons for judgment on its website without ensuring that information that is subject to a publication ban has been removed or redacted from the judgment (e.g. through the use of initials). For information about Publication Bans and their effect, please click here.


Posted Thursday, April 2, 2026: The Nuchatlaht v. British Columbia, 2026 BCCA 137 – 2026/04/02 Court of Appeal The appellant, the Nuchatlaht, brought a claim for Aboriginal title to 210 square kilometers of Nootka Island on the west coast of Vancouver Island, none of which is subject to competing claims or held by third parties. At trial, the judge made a declaration of Aboriginal title to portions of the claimed area. The appellant challenges this declaration on the basis that the judge misapplied the sufficient occupation element of the test for Aboriginal title and adopted a site specific approach. Held: Appeal allowed. The trial judge erred in restricting Aboriginal title to areas of site specific use when assessing sufficient occupation, and in drawing an arbitrary boundary for title, which did not reflect the evidentiary record before the court. The appellant has established sufficient occupation to the entire claimed area, and accordingly a declaration of Aboriginal title is made for this area as pleaded. more ...
Posted Wednesday, April 1, 2026: Malik v. Malik, 2026 BCCA 136 – 2026/04/01 Court of Appeal The appellant challenges a trial judge's order dismissing her claim of a trust over an interest in a property owned by her family. She claimed in part that the trust was formed on the basis of an express agreement that title would be held for her benefit. She produced some written evidence of the trust at trial but had since recovered a written agreement between her and the owners, purporting to grant a trust in her favour. Held: Application to admit fresh evidence granted. Appeal allowed and new trial ordered. The written agreement produced for the first time on appeal meets the Palmer test and should therefore be admitted. A new trial is necessary to determine the weight of the new evidence on the appellant's claim in trust. more ...

Posted Thursday, April 2, 2026:

The Nuchatlaht v. British Columbia, 2026 BCCA 137 – 2026/04/02
Court of Appeal

The appellant, the Nuchatlaht, brought a claim for Aboriginal title to 210 square kilometers of Nootka Island on the west coast of Vancouver Island, none of which is subject to competing claims or held by third parties. At trial, the judge made a declaration of Aboriginal title to portions of the claimed area. The appellant challenges this declaration on the basis that the judge misapplied the sufficient occupation element of the test for Aboriginal title and adopted a site specific approach. Held: Appeal allowed. The trial judge erred in restricting Aboriginal title to areas of site specific use when assessing sufficient occupation, and in drawing an arbitrary boundary for title, which did not reflect the evidentiary record before the court. The appellant has established sufficient occupation to the entire claimed area, and accordingly a declaration of Aboriginal title is made for this area as pleaded.

more ...

Posted Wednesday, April 1, 2026:

Malik v. Malik, 2026 BCCA 136 – 2026/04/01
Court of Appeal

The appellant challenges a trial judge's order dismissing her claim of a trust over an interest in a property owned by her family. She claimed in part that the trust was formed on the basis of an express agreement that title would be held for her benefit. She produced some written evidence of the trust at trial but had since recovered a written agreement between her and the owners, purporting to grant a trust in her favour.

Held: Application to admit fresh evidence granted. Appeal allowed and new trial ordered. The written agreement produced for the first time on appeal meets the Palmer test and should therefore be admitted. A new trial is necessary to determine the weight of the new evidence on the appellant's claim in trust.

more ...

Yukon Judgments

The Chief Justice and Justices of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia also sit, respectively, as the Chief Justice and Justices of the Court of Appeal of Yukon. From time to time, this section of the website includes recently released Court of Appeal of Yukon judgments.

Recently Published Judgments

Recently published judgments are judgments that were given at some time in the past but have only recently been posted on the website by the court.

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