On June 25, 2018, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a claim against several oil and gas producers for impacts relating to climate change in The City of Oakland v. BP, Chevron...more
7/5/2018
/ BP ,
Chevron ,
Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
ConocoPhillips ,
Dismissals ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Exxon Mobil ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Oil & Gas ,
Public Nuisance
The Alberta Court of Appeal (ABCA) may have lowered the standard of proof for summary judgement. This could help shorten the process to judgment for clients pursuing claims as well as assist clients bring unmeritorious claims...more
There was no error in granting partial summary judgment on more than $5 million dollars in gas facility invoices, the Alberta Court of Appeal held in SemCAMS ULC v Blaze Energy Ltd, 2016 ABCA 113, despite the gas producer’s...more
Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Canada issued a unanimous decision in Daniels v Canada (Indian Affairs and Northern Development), 2016 SCC 12 declaring that non-status Indians and Métis are “Indians” under s 91(24) of the...more
The British Columbia Court of Appeal upheld a lower court decision ordering ICI Canada Inc. (now PPG Architectural Coatings Canada Ltd) to pay $4.75 million in remediation costs following a trial which enforced the “polluter...more
The City of Burnaby’s latest effort to assert jurisdiction over work performed in Burnaby in connection with the Trans Mountain Expansion Project was recently dismissed for procedural and constitutional reasons in Burnaby...more
A challenge to the validity of oil and gas permits outside the judicial review process is a collateral attack and will be struck, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench held recently in Ominayak v Penn West Petroleum Ltd, 2015...more
First Nation Prevails in BC Environmental Appeal Board Decision By Mike Theroux, Brad Gilmour and Laura Gill In a decision released on September 3, 2015, the British Columbia Environmental Appeal Board granted the appeal of...more
The City of Vancouver and Brenhill Developments Ltd. successfully appealed the January 27, 2014, decision of the BC Supreme Court (BCSC) in Community Association of New Yaletown v Vancouver (City), 2015 BCSC 117. The appeal...more
A gas facility operator was recently awarded summary judgment for its unpaid invoices, even though the non-paying producer disputed the amounts owing and claimed various set-offs. In SemCAMS ULC v Blaze Energy Ltd, 2015 ABQB...more
The grant of exploration dispositions for oil sands located beneath treaty lands did not trigger the Crown’s duty to consult, the Saskatchewan Court of Appeal held recently in Buffalo River Dene Nation v Ministry of Energy...more
In Moulton Contracting Ltd. v British Columbia, 2015 BCCA 89, the BC Court of Appeal recently overturned the trial judge’s decision (reported at 2013 BCSC 2348, and summarized in an earlier update here) which had awarded...more
On March 3, 2015, Blueberry River First Nation (“BRFN”) sued the Province of BC seeking to break new ground by considering the cumulative impacts of resource development on BRFN’s traditional territory and treaty rights....more
The Trans Mountain Expansion Project, which involves the proposed twinning of the existing Edmonton-Burnaby pipeline and the expansion of a marine terminal, was the subject of a number of court decisions last year involving...more
The City of Vancouver and Brenhill Developments Ltd. have appealed the January 27, 2014 decision of the BC Supreme Court in Community Association of New Yaletown v Vancouver (City), 2015 BCSC 117 (the Brenhill/New Yaletown...more
In IFP Technologies (Canada) v Encana Midstream and Marketing, 2014 ABQB 470, the Court clarified for the first time the circumstances in which a party that waives its right of first refusal under Article 24 of the 1990 CAPL...more
The B.C. Supreme Court has recently clarified the interpretation of section 8 of the B.C. Water Act. Section 8 relates to the power of the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission (OGC) to grant approvals to oil and gas companies for the...more
The BC Supreme Court recently clarified several principles under the Environmental Management Act relating to liability for remediation costs for contaminated sites. In JI Properties Inc v PPG Architectural Coatings Canada...more
In the recent decision of the B.C. Surface Rights Board in Encana Corporation v Perry Burl Piper and Leslie Lancelot Dowd, the Board awarded compensation to landowners less than the amount previously offered by the operator. ...more
In reasons released on May 30, 2014, the B.C. Supreme Court set aside the B.C. Surface Rights Board’s compensation award to a landowner in northern B.C. and remitted the case back to the Board for reconsideration: Progress...more
The Saskatchewan Court of Queen’s Bench held in Buffalo River Dene Nation v The Minister of Energy and Resources and Scott Land & Lease Ltd, 2014 SKQB 69, that a decision of the Minister of Energy and Resources to post for...more
On November 13, 2013, two environmental organizations filed a petition that challenges the lawfulness of the BC Oil and Gas Commission’s (OGC) practice in granting approvals for the short-term use of water in hydraulic...more
On December 16, 2013, the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench granted a long-term Order to Penn West Petroleum Ltd. prohibiting several members of the Lubicon Lake Cree from continuing to blockade a permitted access road in the...more
A recent decision of the B.C. Supreme Court suggests that recovering economic losses caused by blockades or activities that interfere with commercial activities will not be straightforward....more
On October 30, 2013, the Petroleum Services Association of Canada (PSAC) released a Hydraulic Fracturing Code of Conduct for Canada. Eleven PSAC members with hydraulic fracturing operations in Canada helped create the Code...more