Stephanie McHugh is a litigation associate at Hunter Litigation Chambers. She has a strong background in the analysis of complex legal issues, and specializes in the area of written advocacy and legal opinions. Stephanie also has a practice as counsel, and has appeared in all levels of the British Columbia Courts and as junior counsel before the Supreme Court of Canada.

Stephanie holds law degrees from the University of Cambridge and the University of British Columbia. Her practical knowledge of two common law jurisdictions adds to the depth of analysis available within the firm, and provides a strong foundation for her work in litigation and commercial arbitration.

Stephanie has also been a regular contributor to a British Columbia text on civil procedure.

Education
B.A. in History and English, University of Canterbury, NZ, 1986
B.A. (Hons) in Law, University of Cambridge, 1996
LL.B., University of British Columbia, 1998

Bar Admission
British Columbia, 1999

Representative Cases:

Stephanie’s analysis and written advocacy has contributed to the successful result in the following recent cases:

TimberWest Forest Corp Inc. v. Campbell River (City) 2009 BCSC 1804 – a challenge by TimberWest to the tax rates levied by the City on private managed forest land

Pet Supplies (USA) Inc. v. Pivotal Partners Inc. 2008 BCSC 1667 – successfully opposing, for a defendant, an application to amend the pleadings intended to shield the plaintiff from document production

British Columbia v. Foster Forest Products Ltd and others 2008 BCSC 1514 – defence of two mills against an attempt by the Crown to recover stumpage in excess of the amount owed on the timber acquired by the mills

Jay & Mereti Holdings Ltd. v. British Columbia Lottery Corporation 2008 BCSC 196 – an application by the Lottery Corporation to set aside an injunction preventing the Lottery Corporation from terminating a lottery sales agreement

Hayes Forest Service Ltd. v. Weyerhaeuser Company Limited 2008 BCCA 69 – successfully upholding a judgment that Weyerhaeuser had assigned a timber supply agreement to a third party

Weyerhaeuser Company Limited v. Hayes Forest Service Ltd. 2008 BCCA 31 – successfully confirming the arbitrator’s decision in favour of Weyerhaeuser and the scope of appeal of an arbitrator’s award

Lettuce Serview Limited Partnership v. Western Delta Lands Partnership 2007 BCSC 528 – paring back, from $4 million to less than $0.6 million, the fee earned on a real estate transaction on a claim made under an assignment

Lettuce Serview Limited Partnership v. Western Delta Lands Partnership 2007 BCSC 1938 – successfully opposing reconsideration of the court’s finding that advances paid to the assignor were deductible from the fee owed to the assignee

International Forest Products Ltd. v. British Columbia 2006 BCSC 233 – challenging the issue of stumpage invoices based on an ‘estimate scale’, and granting the return of the excess stumpage paid on the quashing of the estimate scales and related stumpage invoices

Selected Publications:

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

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

"Civil Procedure - Court Rules" in the Continuing Legal Education's Annual Review of Law and Practice (2007), by Mark Oulton, Stephanie McHugh, Brent Olthuis & Shannon Ramsay

"Civil Procedure - Court Rules" in the Continuing Legal Education's Annual Review of Law and Practice (2004), by Mike Stephens, Stephanie McHugh & Jasmine MacAdam

Recent Professional Activities:

Co-organiser and co-chair, Winter Legal Education Symposium, Tweedsmuir Park Lodge, January 2010

Presenter - Changes under the Civil Rules, Winter Legal Education Symposium, Tweedsmuir Park Lodge, January 2010