Legally Speaking with Michael Mulligan
Episodes
309 episodes
When Governments Write The Rules To Sue
A province suing over opioids is one thing. A province passing a statute that makes it easier for itself to sue, then launching a sweeping class action on that foundation, is something else entirely. We walk through British Columbia’s opioid li...
What Counts As A Right When There’s Nowhere To Sleep
A city changes a bylaw, two parks get added to a no-camping list, and suddenly the real question isn’t “is this fair?” but “who has the legal power to decide?” We walk through a fresh BC Supreme Court decision on Victoria’s park camping restric...
Punitive Damages For Political Firing
A public servant gives three decades to the province, then gets fired without cause on the very day a government is about to fall. The BC Supreme Court doesn’t just disagree with how it was handled, it finds the termination was politically moti...
When Poker Winnings Become Taxable
A million-dollar poker run sounds like the ultimate loophole, until the CRA decides it looks like a job. We talk with criminal defence lawyer Michael Mulligan about a Supreme Court of Canada leave decision that leaves standing a key ruling on p...
Camp Thunderbird Gate Fight And A 15-Year Lawsuit Over A Supposed Public Road
A locked gate at a kids’ camp sounds like a small-town nuisance until you trace it back to 1935 and forward to a trial date in 2027. We dig into a Greater Victoria dispute where companies say a historic public road, sometimes labelled Settlers ...
The Supreme Court Of Canada Just Opened A New Door To Sue Your Ex
A single Supreme Court of Canada decision can quietly change the ground rules for thousands of breakups, and this one just did. We unpack the Court’s creation of a new tort tied to intimate partner violence, described in terms of coercive contr...
If Nobody Agreed Then Why Pay Anything
One email reply can feel harmless until it turns into a $17,500 invoice. We start with a recruiter placement fee fight that asks a deceptively simple question: when do you actually have a contract? A law firm agrees to work with an external rec...
A Kickboxing Tragedy And The Cat Ate My Ticket
One decision can change a life, and another can quietly lock you into a guilty plea. We start with a heartbreaking civil claim tied to a mixed martial arts tournament and a kickboxing bout that leaves a 26-year-old UBC chemistry graduate in a p...
Lack of Jails Threatens Trials and BCNDP vs Constitutional Requirements
A court system can have the best rules on paper and still grind to a halt when there is nowhere to hold people. We start with a fresh BC Supreme Court practice direction aimed at a problem that’s been building quietly across the province: accus...
Secret Informant, Secret Court
A court decision appears online with almost everything blacked out: no registry, no lawyers, no location, no hearing date, and even the judge’s name is removed. All we’re left with is a disturbing question at the heart of Canadian criminal law:...
Aboriginal Title On Nootka Island
A court can end up deciding the fate of an island by looking at the scars on cedar trees and counting the rings inside them. We dig into a new British Columbia Court of Appeal decision on Aboriginal title for Nootka Island off Vancouver Island,...
Star Players Stay Home & Police Dog Chase to Doggy Daycare
Messi-sized hype, premium ticket prices, then a last-minute announcement that the stars aren’t coming. We walk through the Vancouver Whitecaps class action that followed, including the consumer protection and contract claims that were pleaded a...
British Columbia And Alberta Clash On How To Regulate Lawyers
Two neighbouring provinces are running a live experiment on professional regulation, and the results could shape how Canadians think about law societies, licensing bodies, and government power. We walk through British Columbia’s Legal Professio...
BC Law Society Defamation Claim and Boat Storage After Death
A hyperlink and headline can change the stakes of a professional disagreement. We talk through a Victoria-based defamation lawsuit against the Law Society of British Columbia after a lawyer proposes changing mandatory Indigenous cultural ...
Sentencing For Indiginty to Human Remains and Tribunal System Fix
Someone dies, and the person beside them makes a choice that shocks everyone: no call for help, no report, just a body hidden away. We unpack a BC Provincial Court sentencing decision under Criminal Code section 182, the offence of offering an ...
When “Not Now” Still Means “Maybe Later” For Private Property and ICBC Hit and Run Requirements
A stolen truck blows a stop sign at 4 a.m., the driver vanishes into the dark, and ICBC says the injured victims didn’t take “all reasonable steps” to find who hit them. We dig into the Court of Appeal’s reversal and why the phrase reasonable m...
Trespass By Water, Insurance Duties, And Late Amendments To A Civil Claim
A hose can start a lawsuit—and a precedent can end one. We dive into two fresh BC court decisions that show how civil law balances fairness, timing, and finality. First, we break down a neighbourhood flooding dispute where homeowners sought to ...
AI Facial Recognition Company Violates Privacy Law, Drone Interference, And DIY Silencers
Your face might already live in a searchable database—and BC’s courts just drew a sharp line around what companies can do with it. We break down a major ruling that upholds the privacy commissioner’s order against Clearview AI, unpack why “publ...
When Wiretaps Cross The Line
A live wiretap, a lawyer on the line, and a rule that said “stop listening”—which police ignored. We dive into a rare Supreme Court of Canada decision where constitutional safeguards, solicitor-client privilege, and the search for truth collide...
Why B.C. Casinos Demand Bank Receipts For Big Buy‑Ins
Big wins, bigger rules, and the fine print that shapes how money and data move in British Columbia. We start with the sourced cash condition that kicks in when casino buy‑ins exceed $10,000 and follow a frequent winner who challenged the requir...
Truth, Credibility, And Criminal Records
A courtroom isn’t a referendum on character, and we dig into why that principle matters. We break down the Supreme Court of Canada’s updated guidance on Corbett applications—the rules that govern when an accused’s criminal record can be used to...
Residue And Red Flags
A will that looks proper on paper can still fall apart under real scrutiny. We walk through a striking Court of Appeal decision where a 92‑year‑old’s revised will took 18 nieces and nephews from life‑changing inheritances to token gifts, while ...
Habitat for Humanity Saved, Fitness for Trial and Foreign Buyer Tax
What happens when a charity’s promise of affordable homeownership collides with tenancy law, a defendant’s faith collides with courtroom rules, and a tiny ownership share collides with a big tax bill? We dig into three BC Court of Appeal storyl...
Inside The Injunction: Stopping Bulk Pseudo‑Legal Mail To A BC Court Registry
A small BC registry faced an outsized problem: one litigant’s avalanche of quasi‑legal letters and “certificates” that looked official enough to demand hours or days of staff time to sort, scan, and check. We trace how the Attorney General soug...
When Free Expression Ends And Misconduct Begins At A Canadian University
Courtrooms, campus corridors, mountain slopes, and border tarmacs: we connect them through three rulings that change how you navigate rights, rules, and risk. We start with a Vancouver Island University protest case where banners, ladders, and ...