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PRACTICE PROFILE

Mr. De Vita practices in the area of civil litigation with an emphasis on insurance law, municipal liability, class action and personal injury litigation. His clients include major insurance companies, self insured corporations, local governments and religious institutions. His practice involves the handling of catastrophic personal injury claims, product liability cases and the prosecution and defence of large property damage and business interruption claims. He regularly provides advice to both underwriters and policyholders on coverage issues and has successfully defended insurers in disputes involving policy interpretation, bad faith, arson and fraud. Mr. De Vita has also acted for professionals, including real estate agents, lawyers and insurance brokers and counselors. He has acted as defence counsel in a number of civil cases dealing with allegations of sexual abuse and vicarious liability for sexual abuse.

Mr. De Vita is recognized by LEXPERT as a leading Canadian practitioner in the field of commercial insurance litigation. He has also been selected by his peers for inclusion in the publication, The Best Lawyers in Canada, in each year since its inception in 2006.

Mr. De Vita is a former managing partner of the firm and a current member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

REPRESENTATIVE EXPERIENCE

• Acted as Canadian counsel in bi-national mass tort litigation regarding radiant heating and was involved in negotiation of a (US)$320 million dollar settlement (Kelman v. The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and Goodyear Canada Inc. (Ontario); May v. The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and Goodyear Canada Inc. (B.C.); LaHaie v. The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and Goodyear Canada Inc. (Alberta).
• Represented insurers in a coverage dispute arising from a $12 million dollar mine fire.
• Represented an excess professional liability insurer in a multi-million dollar coverage arbitration.
• Acted as coverage counsel in securing insurance coverage for claims of historical sexual abuse dating back to 1939.
• Represents local governments in a wide variety of litigation including cases involving catastrophic injuries and fatalities.
• Acts as counsel to insurers in coverage matters involving allegations of bad faith, policy interpretation, and disputes relating to the insurer’s duty to defend.
• Regularly acts for insurers in the prosecution and defence of subrogated actions.
• Has appeared as counsel on numerous occasions in both the trial and appellate courts of B.C.
  
  

RECENT PUBLICATIONS AND CONFERENCES

• "Insurance Coverage Potpourri", Bruno De Vita and Hollis A. Bromley, prepared for and presented at the Canadian Defence Lawyers "The Best Defence" Conference, September 15, 2011
• "The Power of the Waiver: How Far Can it be Stretched?", Risk and Insurance Managers Society of Canada (RIMS), National Newsletter, September 2011
• Guest Speaker, CBA Insurance Law Section Annual General Meeting, "What’s Left of the CGL? A Perspective on the Effect of Progressive Homes and Bulldog Bag", June 2011
• "Containing the Cost of Class Action Litigation", Risk and Insurance Management Society National Newsletter, National Conference Edition, Fall 2010
• "Welcome to My House: Homeowners’ Policy Liability and Coverage", prepared and presented with Susan Sangha, Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, Insurance Law Conference, September 2010
• Bruno De Vita and Hollis A. Bromley, "The Decision is in the Bag: A Recent Win for Insurers on CGL Coverage", published in Claims Canada, June 2010 edition
• "Discovery of Documents Under the New Rules of Court", presented to the Risk and Insurance Managers Society, B.C. Chapter, May 19, 2010, Vancouver
• "Supreme Court of Canada Rules on Duty of Care in Giant Mine Tragedy: Fullowka v. Pinkerton’s of Canada Ltd.", Risk and Insurance Management Society National Newsletter, Spring Edition
• "Discovery of Electronic Documents", prepared by B. De Vita and G. Allen for the Lorman Education Services Seminar on Civil Discovery, March 24, 2010, Vancouver, B.C.
• "Social Networking Websites - New Fertile Ground for Evidence", Risk and Insurance Management Society Canada (RIMS) National Newsletter, April 2009 
• "An Overview of the Health Care Costs Recovery Act" presented with K. McLaren, AHBL Lunch and Learn Seminar Series,  April 16, 2009
• "Overcoming the Liability Challenges of Recreational Facilities", prepared for the Canadian Institute’s Provincial/Municipal Liability Conference, February 2009, Toronto, Ontario
• "Allocation of Defence Costs", presented with H. Bromley, Continuing Legal Education Society of British Columbia, Insurance Law Conference, September 2008
• "The Electronic Trap: Discoverability of Electronically Stored Information in Litigation", Risk and Insurance Management Society Canada (RIMS) Newsletter, April 2008
• "Reducing Exposure to Legal Risks Inherent in Publicly Owned Facilities", prepared and presented for The Canadian Institute Provincial/Municipal Liability Conference, February 2008, Toronto, Ontario
• "Class Action Certification and Containment of Litigation Cost", prepared and presented for the ARC Group Canada 2007 Seminar, Toronto, Ontario, October 2007
• "Post-Accident Changes – ‘Damned if you do; Damned if you don’t?’", RIMS (Risk and Insurance Management Society) Canada, National Newsletter, Fall 2007
• “Personal Injury Damages: Some History and Recent Developments”, Prepared and presented for the Insurance Institute of British Columbia, CIP Society, March 28, 2007
• “Liability Insurance – Understanding the Right and Duty to Defend”, published in Adjuster’s Quarterly, Fall 2006
• "Latest Developments on Publicly Owned Facilities: Protecting Quality of Life and Guarding Against Liability", The Canadian Institute - Provincial/Municipal Liability Conference, Toronto, Ontario, February 15-16, 2007
• "Supreme Court of Canada Explains Foreseeability and Causation: Resurfice Corp. v. Hanke", RIMS (Risk and Insurance Management Society) Canada, National Newsletter, February 2007
• "The Nuts and Bolts of Class Actions",  presented with E. Stock, AHBL Lunch ’n Learn Seminar Series, October 31, 2006;
• "New Developments in Social Host Liability: Childs v. Desormeaux" (2005-06) 7 Mun. L.R. Mgt., July 2006, co-authored with Greg J. Allen, [also published in RIMS (Risk Management Society) Canada Newsletter, September 2006];
• "Understanding the Duty and Right to Defend", presented with J. Poole, AHBL Lunch ’n Learn Seminar Series, June 28, 2006;
• "Effectively Managing Risks Inherent in Publicly Owned Facilities", The Canadian Institute - Provincial/Municipal Liability Conference, Toronto, Ontario, February 2006;
• "Using Waivers to Minimize Risk", (2005-06) 7 Mun. L.R. Mgt., November 2005 - co-authored with Rebecca Beatch;
• "Design of public trail key to liability ruling", Insurance West, November 2005;
• "The Use of Waivers to Avoid Liability" - Presentation to the Municipal Law Sub-section, Canadian Bar Association, October 2005;
• "The Law of Waivers", International Municipal Lawyers Association Conference, Savannah, Georgia, September 25, 2005;
• “Statutory Conditions: Guidelines and Practical Considerations”, AHBL Client Seminar Series, April, 2005;
• “Managing the Ongoing Challenges of Publicly Owned Facilities: An Update”, The Canadian Institute – Provincial/Municipal Liability Conference, Toronto, Ontario, February 2005;
•  “Keeping the Faith: The Law of Bad Faith Post-Whiten”, AHBL Client Seminar Series;
•  “Insurance Issues Facing Municipalities”, The Canadian Institute – Provincial/Municipal Liability Conference, Toronto, Ontario, February 2004;
• “Public Facilities Liability – How to Play it Safe and Stay Out of Court”, The Canadian Institute – Provincial/Municipal Liability Conference, Toronto, Ontario, February 2004;
• “Post-Accident Remediation” and “Vicarious Liability”, Speaker at Risk and Insurance Management Society, British Columbia Chapter, March, 2003;
• “Post-Accident Remediation – The Great Catch 22”, The Canadian Institute – Provincial/Municipal Liability Conference, Toronto, Ontario, February 2003, (2002-2003) 4 Mun. L.R. Mgt. 81 (September, 2003);
• “The Use of Waivers to Avoid Liability”, The Canadian Institute – Provincial/Municipal Liability Conference, Toronto, Ontario, February 2003;
• “Vicarious Liability: The State of the Law after Curry and Griffiths”, The Canadian Institute – Western Canada Insurance Law Conference, Calgary, Alberta, February 2003;
• “Social Host Liability – The Aftermath of Hunt”, The Canadian Institution – Provincial/Municipal Liability Conference, Toronto, Ontario, 2002.

PROFESSIONAL AND COMMUNITY AFFILIATIONS

• Director, Corpus Christi/St. Mark’s College (2009 - )
• Trustee, Vancouver College Limited (2005 - )
• Director, Vancouver College -Chair, Legal and Insurance Committee (1997 – 2005)
• Member, Canadian Bar Association (Insurance, Class Action, Civil Litigation and Municipal Sub-sections)
• Executive Member, Vancouver Bar Association (1991-1993)
• Past President, Former President and Chair, Catholic Family Services (1996 – 2005)
• Member, Archdiocesan Synod (2002 – 2003)
• Guest Instructor, Professional Legal Training Course
• Former Instructor, The Office of Marriage and Family Formation – Archdiocese of Vancouver
• Former Lay Auditor, Vancouver Regional Marriage Tribunal

ACCOLADES

• Best Lawyers - Insurance Law 2011