Christopher Rhone

Christopher Rhone is a partner with Branch MacMaster. Prior to admission to the British Columbia Bar (2001), Chris was a judicial law clerk with the British Columbia Court of Appeal. Chris articled with the law firm of Faskens and practised there as a litigation associate before joining Branch MacMaster in 2002.

Contact Christopher Rhone at crhone@branmac.com or (604) 654-2954.

Areas of Practice

• General Civil Litigation, Insurance Defence, and Class Actions

Education

• LL.B.  Edinburgh University, University of Victoria
• B.Sc. (Biology, Hons.), University of Western Ontario

Representative Experience

• Christman v BC SPCA, March 24, 2010 (successful defence of the BC SPCA in a Petition seeking return of numerous distressed horses, dogs and cats seized from a farm in Vernon) 
• Haughton v BC SPCA, 2010 BCSC 406 (successful defence of the BC SPCA's care costs charged to the owner of animals found in distress and taken into the SPCA's custody)
• Ulmer v BC SPCA, 2010 BCCA 98 (Chambers) (successful defence of appellant's application for stay of execution and injunction)
• Ulmer v. BC SCPA, 2010 BCSC 199 (successful defence of BC SPCA in judicial review of decision to seize 70 cats from owner) 
• Christman v BC SPCA, 2009 BCSC 1788 (defence of injunction requiring Petitioner to post significant security for ongoing animal care costs) 
• Zhang v. Garrison, 2009 BCSC 1741 (successful addition of a medical doctor as defendant in Richmond airplane crash case. Medical doctor sought immunity under the federal Aeronautics Act)
• Fentiman v. BC SPCA, 2009 BCSC 1141 (successful defence of the British Columbia SPCA against conversion claim)
• Progressive Homes v. Lombard General Insurance Company, 2009 BCCA 129 (successfully represented an insurer before the B.C. Court of Appeal against a general contractor's claim for coverage under a CGL policy)
• Teck Cominco v. Lloyd's Underwriters, 2009 SCC 11 (successfully represented an insurer before the Supreme Court of Canada on a jurisdictional appeal).
• Lombard v Cominco, 2007 BCCA 249
• Eldridge v. North Construction Ltd., WCAT-2007-01073 (successful worker's compensation defence of a construction company) 
• Progressive Homes Ltd. v. Lombard General Insurance Company of Canada, 2007 BCSC 439 (successful defence of insurer against general contractor's claim for insurance coverage)
• Lloyds and Lombard v. Teck Cominco Metals Ltd., 2006 BCSC 1276
• Willey v. Ronik Security Ltd., 2006 BCSC 1003
• Hoy v. Medtronic, 2004 BCSC 440
• Butterfield v. Lombard Insurance, 2004 BCSC 1755
• Hoy v. Medtronic, Inc., 2003 BCCA 316
• Hoy and Steeds v. Medtronic, 2003 BCSC 666
• ICBC v. Lemare Lake Logging Ltd., 2003 BCSC 1906
• Hoy and Steeds v. Medtronic, 2003 BCSC 666
• Hoy v. Medtronic, 2002 BCSC 1551
• Hoy v. Medtronic, 2002 BCSC 1648
• Macdonald, Dettwiler v. Bygo, 2002 BCCA 272
• Macdonald, Dettwiler v. Bygo, 2002 BCSC 447
• Zodiac Auto Centre v. Purolator Courier Ltd. (2002, unreported) Vancouver Registry No, 2001-69366 (B.C.P.C.) (counsel for Purolator Courier Ltd.)

Professional Activities

• C. Rhone, J. MacMaster and W. Branch, Environmental Insurance Recovery: Legal Issues in Relation to the Buy-Back of Insurance Policies (CLEBC: 2008)
• C. Rhone and W. Branch, Insurance Issues in Class Actions, in Litigating and Managing Insurance Coverage Disputes, The Canadian Institute, Conference, June 17-18, 2008 (Toronto) 
• C. Rhone, CGL Coverage and Long-Tail Pollution Claims: Several Triggering Issues Considered (CLEBC: 2008)
• Co-author (with Ward Branch), Liability Insurance Issues in Construction Practice, British Columbia (CLEBC: 2007)
• Co-author (with W. Branch), "Solving the National Class Problem", 4th Annual Symposium on Class Actions (Toronto:Osgoode Hall Law School of York University , 2007)
• Co-author (with M. Wingert), The Settlement Conference: Cornerstone of the Small Claims Process, British Columbia (CLE: 2005)
• Co-author (with W. Branch), The Bond Between Class Members - The Wedge Between Counsel: Trans-National Class Actions in the Wake of Parsons v. McDonald's Restaurants, British Columbia CLE (February, 2005)
• Co-author (with W. Branch), The Bond Between Class Members - The Wedge Between Counsel: Trans-National Class Actions in the Wake of Parsons v. McDonald's Restaurants, 5th Annual National Forum on Litigating Class Actions (Toronto: Canadian Institute, 2004).
• Co-author, Chaos or consistency? : The National Class Action Dilemma paper for symposium National forum on drug and medical device liability: key developments and cutting edge strategies for litigating ongoing claims and minimizing future exposures (Toronto: Canada Law Institute, 2003)
• Co-author, "'If it Ain't Broke, Don't Fix it!' Does B.C. Need a New Costs Regime for Class Actions?" (2003) Vol. 1, No. 4 Class Action 82
• Author "Accepting the Words of Parliament: Parliamentary History as a Means to Interpret Legislation" (September 2001) 59 The Advocate 697
• Author, Criminal Jury Addresses, CLE (B.C.) November 23, 2000 (Criminal Law Advocacy CLE)
• Co-Author with C. Tollefson and C. Rolfe, Cleanair.ca: A Citizen's Action Guide (Vancouver: Sierra Legal Defence Fund, 2000)
• Author, "From the European Commission to National Courts" (1998) 2 Edinburgh Law Review 345 article

Counsel Work

• Liability defence and prosecution
• Insurance coverage
• Class actions