Jurisdiction Matters - Choose Wisely

Like the title says, Determining Jurisdiction is an important step in preparing for litigation, choosing the wrong Jurisdiction can have fatal consequences to your claim as some litigants recently found out in Kumar v McDonald 2025 BCSC 194.

In this case the Plaintiff's Kevin Kumar, his son Colton Kumar and a BC numbered company brought an action in defamation in Vernon BC which related to acts which occurred in Alberta. The Defendants (and yes we are the defendants) brought an application to stay the Action for want of Jurisdiction.

In her analysis, Madame Justice Laurie found that the Plaintiffs failed to establish territorial competence (sometimes called presumptive jurisdiction) over the Defendants, and that "neither the location of the plaintiffs' business nor the jurisdiction in which damage was allegedly sustained create a presumption of territorial competence."

In determining an additional claim which was denied (for special or enhanced costs) based on litigation misconduct, Madame Justice Laurie had this to say "While i don't disagree that there has been reprehensible conduct, I am not satisfied based on the evidence that it is sufficiently connected to the conduct of this litigation."