Mark Oulton is litigation counsel at Hunter Litigation Chambers practicing general civil and administrative litigation. Formerly an associate with a national law firm in Vancouver and then with Hunter Voith, Mark has appeared as counsel before the B.C. Utilities Commission, the Forest Appeals Commission, and all levels of the British Columbia and Federal Courts. Mark is also experienced in commercial arbitration and the mediated resolution of multi-party disputes.

Mark has acted as senior and junior counsel in a variety of commercial matters, including cases involving breach of fiduciary obligations, shareholder and partnership disputes, breach of contract and real estate disputes. Mark has also acted on behalf of various licensees in a variety of forestry related matters, including stumpage appeals, contractor disputes, compensation claims against the government and arbitrations under the Timber Harvesting Contract and Subcontract Regulation.

Mark obtained his Bachelor of Laws from Osgoode Hall Law School and his Masters in Environmental Studies from York University in 1998. His studies focused on aboriginal rights, resource management and alternative dispute resolution culminating in a major paper entitled “Opportunities for Conservation and Self-Sufficiency: The Co-existence of Aboriginal Rights and Fisheries Management within the B.C. Salmon Fishery”. After completing his Law and Masters degrees, Mark clerked at the Federal Court of Appeal for the Honourable Mr. Justice McDonald. Mark was called to the Bar of British Columbia in March, 2000.

Education
B. Sc., University of British Columbia, 1991
LL.B., Osgoode Hall Law School, 1998
Masters in Environmental Studies (M.E.S.), York University, 1998

Clerkship
Federal Court of Appeal, 1998-1999
Bar Admission
British Columbia, 2000

Representative Cases:

Nathanson Schachter & Thompson v. Inmet Mining Corp. (British Columbia Supreme Court, 2006 and 2007; Court of Appeal 2009) – junior counsel acting for Inmet in obtaining and successfully defending two appeals brought from the Registrar’s assessment of a “fair fee” in circumstances where the manner of billing employed by the firm was not disclosed to the client.

Western Forest Products Limited v. British Columbia (British Columbia Court of Appeal, 2009) - junior counsel in a successful appeal of a challenge brought by the Crown to a decision of the Forest Appeals Commission. The principal issue was whether it was unsuitable to appraise a licensee using an appraisal log dump that was unavailable for use by any other licensee.

Canadian Forest Products Limited v. British Columbia and the Forest Appeals Commission (British Columbia Supreme Court, 2009) – junior counsel acting for Canfor in a successful appeal of a decision of the Forest Appeals Commission relating to the authority of the Minister to retroactively change stumpage rates for timber that had already been scaled.

In the Matter of British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority and An Application for Approval of the 2008 Long Term Acquisition Plan, (British Columbia Utilities Commission, 2009) - represented COPE 378 in successfully opposing BC Hydro’s proposed 2008 Long Term Acquisition Plan on the grounds that it was not in the public interest.

Hayes Forest Services Limited v. Teal Cedar Products Ltd. and others (British Columbia Supreme Court, 2007; Court of Appeal, 2008) – junior counsel representing Teal in obtaining and upholding a stay granted in favour of arbitration. The appeal established, among other things, that an arbitrator appointed under the Timber Harvesting Contract and Subcontract Regulation has the requisite jurisdiction to award equitable remedies.

British Columbia v. Foster Forest Products Limited and others (British Columbia Supreme Court, 2008) – successfully represented two licensees in a summary trial relating to the scope of the lien created in favour of the Crown by s. 130(1)(d) of the Forest Act.

Powell Daniels Contracting v. Cascadia Forest Products Ltd. (Arbitration, 2008), junior counsel for Cascadia in successfully defending a fairness objection raised by a contractor in response to a Forestry Revitalization Proposal made under the Timber Harvesting Contract and Subcontract Regulation

In the Matter of a Filing by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority of Energy Supply Contracts with Alcan Inc, (British Columbia Utilities Commission, 2007) – junior counsel representing the District of Kitimat in successfully opposing the acceptance of the LTEPA Amending Agreement and the Amended and Restated Long-Term Electricity Purchase Agreement on the grounds that the agreements were not in the public interest.

District of Kitimat v Alcan Inc. (British Columbia Supreme Court, 2005; Court of Appeal, 2006) – junior counsel on a case involving whether a municipality has private interest standing to challenge legality of actions taken pursuant to statutory contract

Weyerhaeuser Company Limited v. British Columbia (Forest Appeals Commission, 2005), represented Council of Forest Industries, an intervenor, in an appeal relating to the proper scope of the due diligence defence set out in s. 72 of the Forest and Range Practices Act

Publications:

"Civil Procedure – Court Rules" in the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC’s Annual Review of Law & Practice (2005), by Michael Stephens, Mark Oulton and Jasmine MacAdam

"Civil Procedure – Court Rules" in the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC’s Annual Review of Law & Practice (2006), by Mark Oulton, Shannon Ramsay and Gib van Ert

"Assisting at Trial", by Mark S. Oulton and Daniel Corrin presented January 18, 2007 to the TLABC New Lawyers Litigation Group and the CBA Vancouver's Young Lawyers

"Civil Procedure – Court Rules" in the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC’s Annual Review of Law & Practice (2007), by Mark Oulton, Stephanie McHugh, Brent Olthuis and Shannon Ramsay
"Common Interest: A New Breed of Privilege or More of the Same Old Song?", by Mark Oulton presented November 17, 2008 to The Advocate’s Club

"Civil Procedure – Court Rules" in the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC’s Annual Review of Law & Practice (2008), by Mark Oulton, Stephanie McHugh, Shannon Ramsay and Jacqueline Hughes.

"Civil Procedure – Court Rules" in the Continuing Legal Education Society of BC’s Annual Review of Law & Practice (2009), by Mark Oulton, Stephanie McHugh, Shannon Ramsay and Jacqueline Hughes.