Experience
John has extensive experience handling fire loss, product liability and class action claims and he routinely advises insurers on coverage obligations under CGL, Commercial Property, Comprehensive Homeowner, Course of Construction and Life & Disability policies.John is a co-founder of the firm’s Subrogation Practice Group and a past chair of the firm’s Insurance Coverage Practice Group. John, who identifies as legally blind, is also a co-founder of the firm’s Disability & Inclusion Committee.
John enjoys finding creative solutions to complex disputes. To better serve his clients, John has recently completed the Mediation Program at Harvard Law School, and the “Mediating the Litigated Case” program at Pepperdine University’s Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution.
Education
Mediation Program, Harvard Law School, 2021“Mediating the Litigated Case”, Strauss Institute for Dispute Resolution, Pepperdine University, 2021
LL.B., University of New Brunswick, 1994
B.A., University of British Columbia, 1990
Professional Memberships & Affiliations
- Called to the British Columbia Bar in 1995
- Called to the Northwest Territories Bar in 2002
- Member of the Canadian Bar Association Insurance Law, Product Liability and ADR Sections
- Member of the National Association of Subrogation Professionals
- Past Chair, National Insurance Section, Canadian Bar Association
- Past Chair, BC Insurance Section, Canadian Bar Association
Publications
Publication & Speaking Engagements:
- NASP Canadian Subrogation Forum, seminar presentation, 2021
- Maximizing Recovery in Fire Loss Claims, seminar presentation to the BC Insurance Institute, 2021
- Legalization of Cannabis: Emergent Insurance Issues & Potential Fire Risks, seminar presentation to the BC Insurance Institute, 2019
- Allocation of Defence Costs Between Covered and Uncovered Claims, 2013 Insurance Law, vol. XIV, No. 1.
- Subrogation in B.C. – A Claim’s Handler’s Checklist, 2012
- Subrogation: An Insurance Claim’s Handler’s Guide to Recovery Actions in British Columbia, 2012
- Subrogation: A Lawyers Guide to Recovery Actions in Canada, Paper presented at the Canadian Bar Association’s Canadian Legal Conference in Vancouver, BC, August 2012
- Subrogation Success – What Insurers Can Do to Avoid Leaving Money on the Table, Panel speakers at the National Insurance Conference of Canada, Vancouver, BC, 2011
- The New Supreme Court Civil Rules: Implications for Claims Handlers, 2010
- Ten Things Property and Casualty Insurers Should Know About the Proposed Amendments to the B.C. Insurance Act, Underwritings, Canadian Bar Association, April 2009
- Case Comment: Jesuit Fathers of Upper Canada v. Guardian Insurance Co. of Canada, 25 Canadian Journal of Insurance Law 1 at 11, 2007
- Subrogation: Basic Principles, Emerging Trends and Practical Considerations, Insurance Law Conference 2006 (Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C., 2006)
- Guest speaker at the 2004 Insight Disability Claims Management and Litigation Conference
- Guest speaker at the 2003 Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association Claims Conference
- The Meaning of ‘Accident’ – Out of Serbonian Bog, 8 Insurance Law 441 at 442, 2003
Articles
Maximizing Fire Loss Subrogation Recoveries in Canada
COVID-19 Coverage Crisis: Litigation and legislative responses to the denial of business interruption claims