Upcoming Amendments To British Columbia's Costs Rules: An Update

This is a brief update on the original article published in our April 7, 2016 issue titled " Is it Going to Cost You More? Upcoming Amendments to British Columbia's Costs Rules".

On March 31, 2016, the Attorney General of British Columbia bowed to concerns from ICBC, the province's public auto insurer, and rescinded the amendments to the costs tariff and fees that were to come into force on July 1, 2016. This was a controversial decision by the government which came as a complete surprise to the plaintiff's bar and caused B.C. Supreme Court justices and senior lawyers to quit an important advisory committee, which had been tasked with recommending changes to the tariffs and the calculation of the approved expenses incurred during litigation.