Case information
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36592
Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia v. Lawrence Brian Jer, 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.
| Date | Proceeding | Filed By (if applicable) |
|---|---|---|
| 2016-01-22 | Close file on Leave | |
| 2016-01-22 | Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties | |
| 2016-01-22 | Judgment on leave sent to the parties | |
| 2016-01-21 |
Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA42163, 2015 BCCA 257, dated June 5, 2015, is dismissed with costs to the respondents, Lawrence Brian Jer, Jun Jer and Janette Scott. Dismissed, with costs |
|
| 2015-12-14 | All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, Abe Ka Br | |
| 2015-10-15 | Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Book Form), Completed on: 2015-10-15, (Electronic version filed on 2015-10-15) | Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia |
| 2015-10-09 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), (Electronic version filed on 2015-10-08) | Lawrence Brian Jer |
| 2015-10-08 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Letter Form), will not be participating, Completed on: 2015-10-08, (Electronic version filed on 2015-10-08) | Rashida Samji |
| 2015-10-08 | Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2015-10-08, (Electronic version filed on 2015-10-08) | Lawrence Brian Jer |
| 2015-09-23 | Correspondence received from, (Letter Form), Formal Order Form | Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia |
| 2015-09-08 | Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal and without formal Court of Appeal order, (File open) | |
| 2015-09-04 | Notice of name, (Letter Form), (Electronic version filed on 2015-09-04) | Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia |
| 2015-09-04 | Certificate (on limitations to public access), (Letter Form), (Electronic version filed on 2015-09-04) | Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia |
| 2015-09-04 | Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), CA order rec'd 2015-10-22, Completed on: 2015-10-23, (Electronic version filed on 2015-09-04) | Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia |
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
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia | Applicant | Active |
v.
| Name | Role | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Lawrence Brian Jer | Respondent | Active |
| Jun Jer and Janette Scott | Respondent | Active |
| Rashida Samji | Respondent | Active |
| Rashida Samji Notary Corporation, Samji & Assoc. Holdings Inc. | Respondent | Active |
Counsel
Party: Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia
Counsel
1600 - 1095 West Pender Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6E 2M6
Telephone: (604) 689-3281
FAX: (604) 685-6494
Email: charvey@macfuj.com
Agent
100- 340 Gilmour Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca
Party: Lawrence Brian Jer
Counsel
Reidar Mogerman
128 Pender Street West
Suite 1400
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6B 1R8
Telephone: (604) 639-3668
FAX: (604) 639-3681
Email: pb@hbmlaw.com
Agent
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0J8
Telephone: (613) 282-1712
FAX: (613) 288-2896
Email: msobkin@sympatico.ca
Party: Jun Jer and Janette Scott
Counsel
Reidar Mogerman
128 Pender Street West
Suite 1400
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6B 1R8
Telephone: (604) 639-3668
FAX: (604) 639-3681
Email: pb@hbmlaw.com
Agent
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0J8
Telephone: (613) 282-1712
FAX: (613) 288-2896
Email: msobkin@sympatico.ca
Party: Rashida Samji
Counsel
Owais Ahmed
650 Georgia Street West
Suite 3200
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6B 4P7
Telephone: (604) 895-2849
FAX: (604) 669-9385
Email: randerson@harpergrey.com
Party: Rashida Samji Notary Corporation, Samji & Assoc. Holdings Inc.
Counsel
Owais Ahmed
650 Georgia Street West
Suite 3200
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6B 4P7
Telephone: (604) 895-2849
FAX: (604) 669-9385
Email: randerson@harpergrey.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.
Law of professions – Notaries – Statutory indemnity fund – Acting in capacity as notary – Whether a professional is acting in the capacity as a professional for the purposes of a statutory indemnity scheme where no professional-client relationship exists and where the funds claimed against the scheme where not received by the professional as part of, or ancillary to, his/her professional practice – Notaries Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 334, ss. 18 and 20.
The class action concerned in this application arises out of a fraudulent, or “Ponzi”, investment scheme promoted by the respondent, Rashida Samji. Through her professional corporation, Samji & Associates Ltd., Ms. Samji practiced as a notary public at all material times. She told investors that their money would be held by her in her trust account, would not be at risk and would not leave her account without their consent and instructions. The fraudulent scheme was uncovered prior to March 2012, when the plaintiffs filed their Notice of Civil Claim. The proceeding at issue was limited to the plaintiffs’ claim for recovery of their pecuniary loss from a special fund maintained by the applicant, Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia, under s. 20 of the Notaries Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 334. That section sets out the availability of compensation for victims of fraud from a special fund maintained by the Society, providing the funds were entrusted to or received by the notary “in the person’s capacity as a member”. At trial, the only contested issue was whether or not the funds invested by the class members were entrusted to and received by Ms. Samji in her capacity as a notary public.
The Supreme Court of British Columbia answered the question of whether or not the funds invested by the class members were entrusted to and received by Ms. Samji in her capacity as a notary public, in the affirmative. The B.C. Court of Appeal dismissed the Society’s appeal.
Lower court rulings
Supreme Court of British Columbia
S-121627, 2014 BCSC 1629
Contested issue of whether or not funds invested by class members were entrusted to and received by the respondent, Rashida Samji, in her capacity as a member of the Society of Notaries of British Columbia, answered in the affirmative.
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)
CA42163, 2015 BCCA 257
Applicant’s 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
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Related links
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
Related links
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
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