Blog Posts
Welcome to the Richter Trial Lawyers Blog, where we share insights, updates, and practical guidance from our legal team. Our goal is to help readers understand the latest developments in estate litigation, family law, civil disputes, and personal injury matters in British Columbia. Because the legal world changes often, we work hard to keep this page current, clear, and useful.
What You Will Find on the Richter Trial Lawyers Blog
Here, we publish articles about new decisions from the BC Supreme Court, the BC Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Canada. These decisions often shape how the law works in real life. As a result, our blog highlights what these rulings mean for individuals, families, and professionals.
We also write about practical issues that clients raise every day. For example, many people want to understand wills variation claims, undue influence in estate planning, time limits in family matters, or how personal injury damages are calculated. Our lawyers break down these topics in plain language so readers can feel more confident about their rights.
Who Writes Our Blog Content
The Richter Trial Lawyers Blog features posts written by members of our legal team, including our managing partner, John M. Richter. Because we appear regularly in court, we bring firsthand experience and real-world context to every article. In addition, our team aims to explain complex legal issues in a way that is straightforward and accessible.
Why Our Blog Matters
We created this blog to give readers quick access to reliable legal information. Although our posts are not legal advice, they can help you understand the issues involved in your case and prepare better questions when meeting with a lawyer. If you want more detail about any topic you see here, we invite you to explore our related practice pages or contact our office for assistance.
Court costs are often awarded by a court after a trial or application to whichever party was successful. Their purpose is in part to stop parties from bringing claims that have no chance of success and they may be used to hedge poor behaviour by parties during litigation. Another purpose of court costs is that […]
If you are not married and your claim for spousal support is pursuant to the BC Family Law Act, you must apply within one year of separation. If you are married and your claim for spousal support is pursuant to the Divorce Act, there is no time limit to apply for spousal support. This issue […]
The goodfirm ICBC car accident lawyers want to share these 5 key steps to take if you are injured in a car accident. 1. Try and get as much information about the other driver as possible. Any time you’re injured in a car accident, it’s important to exchange information with the other driver. Its best […]
The goodfirm ICBC personal injury lawyers want to draw attention to a recent judgement from the BC Supreme Court where a plaintiff in a car accident had her award reduced for failing to mitigate. In Mullens v. Toor, 2016 BCSC 1645, Ms. M was injured on her drive home from work. Although her injuries were […]
The goodfirm ICBC lawyers want to draw attention to a recent case where ICBC was ordered to reinstate an injured person’s Part 7 Benefits after they were terminated by ICBC. In Prosofsky v. ICBC, 2016 BCSC 1586, a plaintiff brought a proceeding seeking reinstatement his Part 7 benefits. Part 7 benefits get their name from […]
Maestro Maestro is an interactive touchscreen program used with a big-screen television that has enhanced the way personal injury lawyers present evidence to injuries that cannot be seen by the eye. The user controls diagrams, documents and pictures on the television by swiping his/her fingers across the screen. The control includes cropping, highlighting and sweeping […]
Last year, the Associated Press released a three-part series on which jobs are being lost to new technology. Their research found that nearly all of the disappearing jobs are not low-paid, low-skilled positions, but rather reasonably-paid, traditionally middle-class professions including lawyers, loan officer and more. While jobless recovery and new technological advancements pose a more immediate […]
The goodfirm ICBC personal injury lawyers want to draw attention to a recent personal injury case in which ICBC was ordered to pay special cost for failing obey a court order to disclose the existence of surveillance footage. In Norris v. Burgess, 2016 BCSC 1451 (CanLII), a plaintiff was injured in a motorcycle accident. After […]
The goodfirm ICBC personal injury lawyers want to draw the public’s attention to a recent personal injury case in the Supreme Court of British Columbia involving the birth of a child and litigation over €œin-trust†claims of the child’s parents and grandparents. In the recent case of Crossman v. Boiley 2016 BCSC 1437, a couple’s […]
Suffering from Invisible Pain. Sixteen year old Elisha Singh was travelling with her mother and father when she and her parents were hit while crossing the intersection at 92nd Avenue and 152nd Street in Surrey. It was boxing day and the family was returning home very early in the morning. Elisha was sleeping in […]
Richter Trial Law, the goodfirm ICBC personal injury lawyers want to draw attention to a recent $4.8 million dollar award been handed down from the Supreme Court of British Columbia in Hans v. Volvo Trucks North America Inc., 2016 BCSC 1155 over a truck accident involving electrical failure on a long haul truck and serious psychological […]
Coming into force on March 2013, the Family Law Act, SBC 2011 c 25 (“FLA”) dramatically changed the family law landscape in British Columbia. In addition to reducing the amount of judicial resources spent determining family property and debt under the former act, the goal of the new legislation is to make the law simpler, […]
Divorce and relationship breakdown is hard on everyone involved. While it is hard on the spouses, it is especially difficult on any children involved. People often do and say things that they are not proud of when their lives are in turmoil. Just one of the reasons that divorce is especially difficult for parents (and […]
Don’t go it alone: A cautionary tale of self-representation at the BC Supreme Court in motor vehicle cases Richter Trial Lawyers, the goodfirm ICBC car accident lawyers want to share a recent case from the BC Supreme Court reiterating the dangers of opting to “go it alone” at trial. In Mather v. MacDonald 2016 BCSC […]
In Shongu v. Jing, 2016 BCSC 901, the latest ruling involving car accident at the Supreme Court of British Columbia, a man was awarded $1,080,000 from ICBC for damages as a result of his accident, even though the collision was mild. Mr. S, a 39 year old refugee from the Democratic Republic of the Congo […]
On June 14, 2016, Justice Pearlman of the BC Supreme Court released a decision on the issue of special costs in Dyer v. Dyer, 2016 BCSC 1115. The issue was whether Mr. Dyer was entitled to recover special costs against Mrs. Dyer after she brought an application to have the firm McLachlan Brown Anderson disqualified […]
The goodfirm personal injury lawyers want to draw attention to a recent case involving a dog bite and a claim for damages at the BC Supreme Court. In Bloski v. Chopyk 2016 BCSC 1022, a former professional ice hockey player, injured by a roving pit bull, recently brought a claim for damages against neighbors who […]
The goodfirm ICBC personal injury lawyers want to share a recent case that demonstrates the cautious approach the court takes in assessing a plaintiff’s injuries where there is little or no objective evidence. In Gordon v. Ahn, 2016 BCSC 795, a 19 year old woman was injured in a motor vehicle accident when the vehicle […]
A recent ruling from the Ontario Court of Appeal sheds light on the extent of an insurance company’s duty to defend additional insureds under an insurance policy. On a snowy day in Pickering, a man was killed when his car skidded on ice and snow on the roadway, which was maintained by the Regional Municipality […]
More British Columbians are being killed by distracted driving than impaired driving, according to B.C. Attorney General Suzanne Anton. Eighty-one people were killed in 2012 in distracted driving accidents, compared to 55 deaths caused by drinking and driving accidents. This is not necessarily a reduction in drunk driving itself, but rather a fatal increase in […]