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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 Tuesday, March 24, 2026:

Gesner v. Coast Capital Savings Federal Credit Union,  2026 BCCA 125  –  2026/03/03
Court of Appeal

The appellant applies for what would amount to an indefinite sealing order over this entire appeal. She also seeks special costs. These applications were filed after the appeal was heard and decided in favour of the respondent. Held: Applications dismissed. The division that heard the appeal has ordered that a significant portion of the filings in this Court be sealed. The risk to the appellant’s privacy from the currently unsealed portions is not sufficiently material to displace the open courts principle. The application for special costs is dismissed because the appellant was unsuccessful, both on this application and in her appeal at large. The respondent is awarded 50% of its assessed costs of these applications.
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MacKay v. MacKay,  2026 BCCA 117  –  2026/03/24
Court of Appeal

These are supplemental reasons on costs. Held: The parties should bear their own costs, as success on the appeal was divided.
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R. v. Van Dyke,  2026 BCCA 116  –  2026/03/24
Court of Appeal

This is an appeal from a conviction for manslaughter. The appellant pushed the victim away from his e-bike. The victim fell backwards, hit his head on a sidewalk, and later died from blunt force injuries to his head. The appellant did not deny the push; rather, he argued for an acquittal relying on the defence of property. The trial judge rejected that defence. The appellant says the judge erred in law by failing to consider the entirety of the circumstances. HELD: Appeal dismissed. The judge applied the proper legal framework for the defence of property under s. 35 of the Criminal Code, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-46; considered the whole of the relevant evidence; and drew factual inferences that were open to her. The appellant has not established reversible error. Accordingly, there is no basis for quashing the conviction.
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Posted Monday, March 23, 2026:

Booth v. Habitat for Humanity Victoria,  2026 BCCA 123  –  2026/02/12
Court of Appeal

The applicant applies for a stay of the execution of an order that she deliver vacant possession of the property she currently occupies and costs. Held: Application dismissed. The balance of convenience does not favour the granting of a stay. To do so would not be in the interests of justice.
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R. v. Chen,  2026 BCCA 122  –  2026/02/12
Court of Appeal

The applicant applies for leave to appeal the dismissal of his appeal of a summary conviction for using an electronic device while driving. Held: Application for leave to appeal dismissed. The issues raised in this appeal are not of general importance and the applicant has not identified any errors or law.
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R. v. Dickins,  2026 BCCA 120  –  2026/03/11
Court of Appeal

The appellant was convicted of sexual offences against a young child and sentenced to 12 years in prison. He seeks bail pending appeal of his conviction and sentence. Held: Application dismissed. The merits of the conviction appeal are very weak, and, in any event, continuing detention is necessary in the public interest. Although the sentence appeal has some merit, the merits are not strong enough that continued detention would cause undue hardship. There is a real risk that release, even under strict circumstances, would impair public confidence in the administration of justice.
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Posted Friday, March 20, 2026:

R. v. Cade,  2026 BCCA 106  –  2026/03/20
Court of Appeal

The appellant challenges his conviction on three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking on the basis that his s. 11(b) right to be tried within a reasonable time was infringed. He submits the judge erred in law in finding 37 days of defence delay, and in his alternative finding that this delay was justified by the complexity of the case. Held: Appeal allowed, conviction set aside, and stay of proceedings entered. The trial judge erred in allocating as defence delay 22 days spent sorting out elections and arraignments at the outset of a multi-accused trial. This delay was part of the inherent time requirements of the case. The trial judge erred in principle in concluding, alternatively, that this delay was justified by the complexity of the case. He failed to consider whether the Crown had taken reasonable steps to mitigate the delay beyond declining to sever the proceedings. Had the judge engaged with this issue, he would have been compelled to conclude that the Crown failed to meet its burden of demonstrating reasonable efforts to mitigate the delay caused by the complexity of the joint proceedings.
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Posted Thursday, March 19, 2026:

Airbnb, Inc. v. Ware,  2026 BCCA 110  –  2026/03/19
Court of Appeal

The appellants appeal the orders of the chambers judge certifying this proceeding as a class proceeding and dismissing objections by two of the appellants that the Court did not have territorial jurisdiction over them. The respondent alleges that the appellants have operated as real estate agents, travel agents, and/or money services businesses without having obtained the licence or registration required by the statutes regulating these activities. She pleads causes of action in unjust enrichment, breach of provincial consumer protection statutes, and breach of contract, all grounded in the alleged contravention of the statutes. On appeal, the appellants say that: (1) the chambers judge erred in finding there was a real and substantial connection between British Columbia and the facts of the pleaded claims against Airbnb, Inc. and Airbnb Canada Inc., or in refusing to decline jurisdiction over Airbnb, Inc.; and (2) the chambers judge erred in finding the respondent had established the requirements in s. 4(1)(a)-(d) of the Class Proceedings Act.

Held: Appeal allowed in part. Airbnb, Inc’s appeal from the order dismissing its jurisdictional objection is dismissed. Airbnb Canada’s appeal is allowed and the claim against it is dismissed. The appeal from the certification order is allowed, the certification order is set aside, and the matter is remitted to the chambers judge.

(1) On the appeal from the dismissal of the jurisdictional challenge, the chambers judge did not err in dismissing Airbnb, Inc.’s jurisdictional objection, or in refusing to decline jurisdiction on the basis that California was the more appropriate forum. The court has territorial jurisdiction over Airbnb, Inc. based on the company’s undisputed role as a contracting party in relation to some of the claims. The chambers judge did not err in refusing to decline jurisdiction in favour of California. However, the chambers erred in finding the Court had territorial competence over Airbnb Canada. There are no pleaded facts to establish territorial jurisdiction. Airbnb Canada’s role, as pleaded and shown on the evidence, was limited to providing advertising and marketing services to other Airbnb entities.(2) On the appeal from the certification order, the chambers judge did not err in finding that the pleadings disclosed a cause of action and that there was an identifiable class of two or more persons. However, she erred in her analysis of the preferable procedure requirement. Further, she conducted her preferability analysis on the basis of a fundamentally flawed set of proposed common issues that did not allow a proper assessment of whether the claim should be certified as a class proceeding. The certification order is set aside and the matter is remitted to the chambers judge to consider whether the requirements of ss. 4(1)(c) and (d) of the Class Proceedings Act are met in light of the Court of Appeal’s reasons.
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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.

 

Posted Friday, March 20, 2026:

R. v. Weatherston,  2026 YKCA 5  –  2026/03/20
Court of Appeal

The appellant appeals his conviction for sexual assault following a jury trial. He advances two principal grounds of appeal being that the judge erred in (1) dismissing his application to admit certain evidence under s. 276 of the Code as to the nature of his and the complainant’s relationship and (2), failing to manage the trial properly following the Crown’s admitted violation of the s. 276 ruling during the appellant’s cross-examination such that his right to make full answer and defence was compromised. Held: Appeal allowed on the basis of the second ground of appeal. The conviction is quashed and a new trial is ordered. The judge erred in her attempts to remedy the Crown’s breach of the s. 276 ruling by not reconsidering, on her own initiative, that ruling due to a material change of circumstances. The remedial measures the judge undertook at the parties’ joint request, which included providing a mid-trial instruction and allowing a limited re-examination of the appellant were inadequate and failed to restore trial fairness. The situation was then exacerbated by both the Crown’s closing submissions, and the judge’s charge to the jury, all of which precluded the appellant from making full answer and defence and rendered the trial unfair.
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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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