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Case information

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31570

Julie Berg v. Police Complaint Commissioner Dirk Ryneveld, Q.C., et al.

(British Columbia) (Civil) (By Leave)

Docket

Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.

List of proceedings
Date Proceeding Filed By
(if applicable)
2006-12-19 Close file on Leave
2006-12-08 Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties
2006-12-08 Judgment on leave sent to the parties
2006-12-07 Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for an extension of time is granted and the application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA32676, 2006 BCCA 225, dated May 9, 2006, is dismissed.
Dismissed
2006-12-07 Decision on motion to extend time to file and /or serve the leave application
Granted
2006-10-30 All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, Bi De Abe
2006-10-30 Submission of motion to extend time to file and/ or serve the leave application, Bi De Abe
2006-10-25 Correspondence received from, A. Cameron Ward, dated Oct 25/06 - re: costs on leave application. Julie Berg
2006-09-21 Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, Missing 1 service - rec'd Sept. 26/06, Completed on: 2006-09-26 Julie Berg
2006-09-12 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2006-09-12 David Bruce-Thomas
2006-09-08 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, Completed on: 2006-09-08 Police Complaint Commissioner Dirk Ryneveld, Q.C.
2006-08-15 Letter acknowledging receipt of a complete application for leave to appeal
2006-08-14 Motion to extend the time to file and or serve the application for leave to appeal, Included in the Application, Completed on: 2006-08-14 Julie Berg
2006-08-14 Application for leave to appeal, Original final C/A order rec'd on Sept. 8, 2006., Completed on: 2006-08-14 Julie Berg

Parties

Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.

Main parties

Main parties - Appellants
Name Role Status
Berg, Julie Applicant Active

v.

Main parties - Respondents
Name Role Status
Police Complaint Commissioner Dirk Ryneveld, Q.C. Respondent Active
Bruce-Thomas, David Respondent Active

Counsel

Party: Berg, Julie

Counsel
Name
A. Cameron Ward
Contact information
A. Cameron Ward & Company
1205 - 207 West Hastings Street
The Dominion Building
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6B 1H7
Telephone: (604) 688-6881
FAX: (604) 688-6871
Email: cward@cameronward.com
Agent
Name
Robert E. Houston, Q.C.
Contact information
Burke-Robertson
70 Gloucester Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0A2
Telephone: (613) 566-2058
FAX: (613) 235-4430
Email: rhouston@burkerobertson.com

Party: Police Complaint Commissioner Dirk Ryneveld, Q.C.

Counsel
Name
Frank A.V. Falzon
Contact information
200 - 3511 Shelbourne Street
Victoria, British Columbia
V8P 4G8
Telephone: (250) 384-3995
FAX: (250) 384-4924
Email: favf@islandnet.com
Agent
Name
Henry S. Brown, Q.C.
Contact information
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
2600 - 160 Elgin St
P.O. Box 466, Stn "D"
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 788-3433
Email: henry.brown@gowlings.com

Party: Bruce-Thomas, David

Counsel
Name
William B. Smart, Q.C.
Contact information
Smart, Harris & Martland
1190 - 840 Howe Street
Box 10
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6Z 2L2
Telephone: (604) 687-6278
FAX: (604) 687-6298
Email: vlang@smartwilliams.com

Summary

Keywords

None.

Summary

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.

Administrative law - Natural justice - Procedural fairness - Complainant's rights to participate in public hearing - Legislation - Interpretation - Adjudicator conducting public hearing under Police Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 367, into allegation that police officer had used excessive force - Complainant appealing adjudicator's decision that officer did not commit alleged disciplinary default - Whether Court of Appeal erred in finding that principles of natural justice and procedural fairness were not violated by manner in which hearing was conducted.

The Applicant's brother died as a result of injuries sustained while being detained by the Respondent police officer. The Applicant filed a complaint under the Police Act alleging that the officer had used excessive force. The Police Complaint Commissioner appointed an adjudicator to conduct a public hearing into the officer's conduct. The adjudicator held that it had not been proven that the officer had used unnecessary force. The Applicant appealed that decision, alleging that she had been denied statutory and common law rights to participate in the evidentiary phase of the hearing, that the hearing was unfair, and that the adjudicator's decision was wrong and should be set aside

Lower court rulings

January 21, 2005
Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner

PH2003-01

Respondent David Bruce-Thomas found not guilty of disciplinary default of abuse of authority by using unnecessary force

May 9, 2006
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)

CA32676, 2006 BCCA 225

Appeal dismissed

Filed documents

The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

Webcasts

Not available.

Date modified: 2025-02-27