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Case information

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35581

Superintendent of Motor Vehicles, et al. v. Colin Roy Murray

(British Columbia) (Civil) (By Leave)

Docket

Judgments on applications for leave to appeal are rendered by the Court, but are not necessarily unanimous.

List of proceedings
Date Proceeding Filed By
(if applicable)
2014-01-27 Close file on Leave
2014-01-24 Copy of formal judgment sent to Registrar of the Court of Appeal and all parties
2014-01-24 Judgment on leave sent to the parties
2014-01-23 Judgment of the Court on the application for leave to appeal, The application for leave to appeal from the judgment of the Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver), Number CA040437, 2013 BCCA 363, dated August 13, 2013, is dismissed with costs.
Dismissed, with costs
2013-12-16 All materials on application for leave submitted to the Judges, CJ Cro Wa
2013-11-26 Correspondence received from, Gowlings re: Memorandum from Justice Newbury of the Court of Appeal dated 2013/11/12 Superintendent of Motor Vehicles
2013-11-25 Applicant's reply to respondent's argument, (Book Form), Electronic version rec'd, Completed on: 2013-12-05 Superintendent of Motor Vehicles
2013-11-13 Respondent's response on the application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Completed on: 2013-11-18 Colin Roy Murray
2013-11-07 Correspondence received from, Sarah Bevan rec'd by fax re: CA Order Form, no specific date as to when to expect the CAOrder - original rec'd 2013/11/13 Superintendent of Motor Vehicles
2013-10-17 Letter acknowledging receipt of an incomplete application for leave to appeal and without formal Court of Appeal order
2013-10-15 Application for leave to appeal, (Book Form), Service rec'd 2013-10-18 - electronic version filed - CA Order rec'd 2013/12/05, Completed on: 2013-12-05 Superintendent of Motor Vehicles

Parties

Please note that in the case of closed files, the “Status” column reflects the status of the parties at the time of the proceedings. For more information about the proceedings and about the dates when the file was open, please consult the docket of the case in question.

Main parties

Main parties - Appellants
Name Role Status
Superintendent of Motor Vehicles Applicant Active
Attorney General of British Columbia Applicant Active

v.

Main parties - Respondents
Name Role Status
Murray, Colin Roy Respondent Active

Counsel

Party: Superintendent of Motor Vehicles

Counsel
Name
Sarah Bevan
Contact information
Attorney General of British Columbia
1301 - 865 Hornby Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6Z 2G3
Telephone: (604) 660-4602
FAX: (604) 660-6797
Email: sarah.bevan@gov.bc.ca
Agent
Name
Brian A. Crane, Q.C.
Contact information
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
2600 - 160 Elgin St
Box 466 Station D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 563-9869
Email: brian.crane@gowlingwlg.com

Party: Attorney General of British Columbia

Counsel
Name
Sarah Bevan
Contact information
Attorney General of British Columbia
1301 - 865 Hornby Street
Vancouver, British Columbia
V6Z 2G3
Telephone: (604) 660-4602
FAX: (604) 660-6797
Email: sarah.bevan@gov.bc.ca
Agent
Name
Brian A. Crane, Q.C.
Contact information
Gowling WLG (Canada) LLP
2600 - 160 Elgin St
Box 466 Station D
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 1C3
Telephone: (613) 233-1781
FAX: (613) 563-9869
Email: brian.crane@gowlingwlg.com

Party: Murray, Colin Roy

Counsel
Name
Michael D.E. Lefebure
Contact information
G. Jack Harris, Q.C. Law Corporation
2885 Justice Way
Abbotsford, British Columbia
V2T 3P6
Telephone: (604) 859-1377
FAX: (604) 859-1375
Agent
Name
Marie-France Major
Contact information
Supreme Advocacy LLP
100- 340 Gilmour Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K2P 0R3
Telephone: (613) 695-8855 Ext: 102
FAX: (613) 695-8580
Email: mfmajor@supremeadvocacy.ca

Summary

Keywords

None.

Summary

Case summaries are prepared by the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court of Canada (Law Branch). Please note that summaries are not provided to the Judges of the Court. They are placed on the Court file and website for information purposes only.


Transportation law – Motor vehicles – Automatic roadside driving prohibitions – Review of prohibitions by Superintendent – Sworn or solemnly affirmed reports forwarded by peace officer to Superintendent of Motor Vehicles – Whether Superintendent of Motor Vehicles can review automatic roadside driving prohibition in absence of sworn or solemnly affirmed report forwarded by peace officer – Motor Vehicle Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 318, ss. 215.41, 215.47(d) and 215.49.

The Motor Vehicle Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 318 (“MVA”), allows a peace officer to serve an automatic roadside driving prohibition on a driver in certain circumstances. In this case, the respondent, Mr. Murray, was served with an automatic roadside prohibition pursuant to s. 215.41 of the MVA, after two breath samples provided to the officer who stopped him registered a “fail”, indicating that he had a blood alcohol concentration of not less than 80 mg/100 ml. The prohibition entailed a 90-day driving suspension and a $500.00 penalty. Mr. Murray’s vehicle was also impounded for 30 days. Mr. Murray’s application for a review of the prohibition by an adjudicator designated by the applicant Superintendent of Motor Vehicles was unsuccessful. Mr. Murray then sought judicial review from the adjudicator’s decision. The B.C. Supreme Court quashed the adjudicator’s decision, finding that the adjudicator was wrong to have proceeded with the review in the absence of the sworn or solemnly affirmed report a peace officer is required to forward to the Superintendent pursuant to s. 215.47(d) of the MVA. The Court of Appeal agreed and dismissed the appeal.


Lower court rulings

November 22, 2012
Supreme Court of British Columbia

2012 BCSC 1730, S24913

Adjudicator’s decision quashed; matter remitted to Superintendent for re-hearing

August 13, 2013
Court of Appeal for British Columbia (Vancouver)

2013 BCCA 363, CA040437

Appeal dismissed; reference in chambers judge’s order to remitting matter deleted; prohibition quashed

Filed documents

The memorandums of argument on an application for leave to appeal will be posted here 30 days after leave to appeal has been granted unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of the memorandum by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a memorandum of argument or want to use a memorandum of argument, please contact the author of the memorandum of argument directly. Their name appears at the end of the memorandum of argument. The contact information for counsel is found in the “Counsel” tab of this page.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

The factums of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here at least 2 weeks before the hearing unless they contain personal information, information that is subject to a publication ban, or any other information that is not part of the public record. You may also obtain copies of factums by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a factum or want permission to use a factum, please contact the author of the factum directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each factum.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

The condensed books of the appellant, the respondent and the intervener will be posted here upon receipt of the electronic version, 2 days prior to the scheduled appeal hearing. You may also obtain copies of condensed books by filling out the Request for Court records form or by contacting the Court’s Records Centre either by email at records-dossiers@scc-csc.ca or by telephone at 613‑996‑7933 or at 1‑888‑551‑1185.

If you have questions about a condensed book or want permission to use a condensed book, please contact the author of the condensed book directly. Their contact information appears on the first page of each condensed book.

Downloadable PDFs

Not available

Webcasts

Not available.

Date modified: 2025-02-27