Tel: 604-647-4555 
E-mail: bberardino@litigationchambers.com

Bill Berardino is one of the most highly respected commercial barristers in British Columbia.  Mr. Berardino practises in the area of general litigation representing clients before the Supreme and Appellate Courts of British Columbia, the Federal Court of Canada and the many federal, provincial and local boards and tribunals.  He is a member of the Law Reform Committee and the American College of Trial Lawyers. 
 
Mr. Berardino has served as one of eight members of the 1998 Hughes Commission on the reform of the Province’s judicial system.  He has also lectured and instructed at continuing legal education courses from 1975 to the present on the following subjects, among others: complex litigation, trial advocacy skills, court procedure, and appellate court advocacy skills.  Mr. Berardino has appeared as Counsel before all of the Courts in the Provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Manitoba, the Yukon and North West Territories, the Trial and Appellate Divisions of the Federal Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada, and numerous administrative tribunals including the discipline tribunals of the Law Society of British Columbia, the Architectural Institute of British Columbia, the Engineers Society, and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia. In 2007, the Vancouver Bar Association awarded the first Peter S. Hyndman Mentorship Award to Mr. Berardino.

Education  
B.A., University of British Columbia, 1962 
LL.B., University of British Columbia, 1965

Bar Admissions 
British Columbia, 1966 
Yukon Territory, 1987

Representative Cases:

Abacus Group Litigation - Representing investors before the British Columbia Supreme Court and Court of Appeal claiming fraud and damages arising out of the collapse of Abacus tax shelter empire. 

Abermin Corporation v. Granges - Defending allegations of multimillion dollar stock manipulation. 

Bank of Nova Scotia v. Imperial Group - Advancing claims in the Provinces of British Columbia and Manitoba for fraud and conspiracy with respect to the failure of the Imperial Group. 

B.C. v. Imperial Tobacco (recovery of medical costs alleged to arise from smoking related illnesses)

Commonwealth Construction v. Crown Zellerbach - Chairman of a nine month arbitration related to a construction contract for the construction of a pulp mill in Northern British Columbia.Dixon v. Price Waterhouse - Representing Price Waterhouse in a case which defined the scope of duty of care of auditors to members of the public arising out of the NBS collapse

Frolek v. Frolek - A decision on the threshold questions relating to Wills variation allegations.

Emil Anderson v. B.C. Railway - Representing the plaintiff in a nine month trial and a related appeal in connection with acceleration and other contractual claims concerning the construction of railway tunneling for the north east coal project in British Columbia. 

Howard v. Architectural Institute - A decision as to the constitutional validity of certain sections of the Architects Act.  

Hunt v. Lac D’Amiante Du Quebec Ltte et al - Representing an asbestos company in litigation involving allegations of conspiracy to suppress material information related to the hazards of asbestos.  The action was a test case in the Supreme Court of British Columbia and involved a number of appeals to the British Columbia Court of Appeal and appeals to the Supreme Court of Canada, as well as taking by commission the evidence of many witnesses in Canada, in the United States and in the United Kingdom. 

Stiles v. Honda - Representing Honda in a lengthy trial which was a test case with respect to claims arising out of three wheeled  ATV vehicles manufactured and sold by claims in British Columbia arising out of the Grizzly Valley pipeline failure and claims advanced in contract and tort. 

Kaiser Resources v. KTMI - Advancing claims before an international arbitration in relation to shipbuilding work carried out at a Korean shipyard.  This arbitration took place at the International Arbitration Centre at Vancouver.  There were related proceedings in Korea. 

Kay Motors v. C.I.B.C. - A leading decision on the issue of damages related to bankruptcy proceedings. 

Keen v. British Columbia Railway - Representing the plaintiff in a twelve month trial which led to leading decisions of the British Columbia Supreme Court and Court of Appeal on the proof of civil fraud and damages. 

Meech Lake Constitutional Challenge - Acting for the Attorney General of Canada before the Courts of the Yukon and Northwest Territories and the Federal Court of Canada defending the constitutional validity of the Meech Lake Accord. 

National Trust v. Bell Canada - A decision on the obligations of disclosure under provincial and federal legislation related to the amalgamation of the Bell Canada group. 

Pirbhai v. Pirbhai - Decisions of the B.C. Supreme Court and British Columbia Court of Appeal concerning issues of partnership and trust related to assets situate in British Columbia, Switzerland and Pakistan. 

Principal Group litigation - Decisions of the Courts in Alberta and the Supreme Court of Canada with respect to the procedure and substance of the Code Inquiry in to the failure of the Principal Group. 

Regina v. Allard Construction - A lengthy trial defending charges under the Mining Act of British Columbia and regulations related thereto concerning alleged pollution of the Coquitlam River. 

Regina v. Davidson - Defending a lengthy case alleging criminal arson. 

Smith v. Kern - A decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal with respect to reopening a case after trial on the basis of new evidence. 

United Services Fund v. Carter and Ward - Representing the mutual fund manager in extensive litigation arising out of an international stock fraud scheme in which there was adjudication, inter alia, of the issue of the liability of plaintiffs for contributory negligence in the face of fraudulent acts of defendants 

Whitbread v. Walley - A decision on the constitutional validity of the limitation of liability sections of the Canada Shipping Act. 

Whonnock Lumber v. Mercantile Bank - A leading decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal on the approach to damages arising out of the wrongful appointment of a receiver/manager.  

Vancouver College - litigation involving the exigibility of the assets of Vancouver College arising out of the liquidation of the Christian Brothers of Ireland.