A BC Ferries Agreement gives one or more defendants an
opportunity to settle out of a multi-party proceeding on the
plaintiff's agreement to forego recovery of any portion of the
loss ultimately attributable to the settling parties from the
non-settling defendants.
How does this affect the parties that remain in the action? Are
they jointly, severally, or jointly and severally liable as between
them?
In The Owners of Strata Plan KAS3204 v Navigator Development
Corporation, 2020 BCSC 1954, Madam
Justice Warren decided that a BC Ferries agreement extinguishes
joint liability between settling parties, as a group, and
non-settling parties, as a group, but joint and several liability
remains as between the non-settling parties.
