Date Closed

February 23, 2024

Lead Office

Vancouver

McCarthy Tétrault successfully represented the defendants British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. (“BC Ferries”) and Brittney Sylvester in an application to strike a claim against them. In Action4Canada, et al. v. British Columbia (Attorney General), et al., 2022 BCSC 1507, the plaintiffs filed a lengthy pleading containing wide-ranging allegations about the COVID-19 pandemic, including the Canadian and B.C. governments’ responses to that pandemic.

The B.C. Supreme Court (“BCSC”) struck this pleading in its entirety, with leave to amend. The court accepted the defendants’ argument that this pleading was “clearly prolix” and was “not a pleading that can properly be answered by a responsive pleading” (paras. 32, 45). The court awarded costs of the application to the defendants. The plaintiffs appealed to the British Columbia Court of Appeal (“BCCA”).

On February 23, 2024, the BCCA dismissed the appeal on the basis that the appellants identified no reviewable error.

McCarthy Tétrault represented BC Ferries and Ms. Sylvester with a team including Michael Feder, K.C. and Connor Bildfell.