Biography

Chris Rusnak acts in multi-party cases in the areas of engineering, environmental, product liability and construction litigation. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Chemical Engineering. 

Chris has a reputation as a team player and has strong working relationships with counsel throughout Vancouver.

Chris deals with technically challenging cases involving issues such as building envelope design failure, hydrocarbon migration in soils, large scale landslides and covalent bond failure analysis.  He has also defended product liability claims on behalf of multinational manufacturers of consumer products in a number of Canadian jurisdictions. He is skilled at addressing the extensive scientific evidence and complex legal issues that arise from these claims.

In addition to appearing in all levels of court in British Columbia and New Brunswick, Chris has appeared at the Supreme Court of Canada, the Ontario Superior Court, the Yukon Supreme Court and the Newfoundland and Labrador Supreme Court.

In 2007, Chris was nominated and named a Finalist in a national publication's survey of Leading Lawyers under 40. He has been selected by his peers as one of the "Best Lawyers" in Canada in insurance law. Chris co-chairs the Engineering and Construction Law Practice Group and has served on our firm's executive committee.

Education

• University of Victoria, LL.B., 1992
• Queen's University, B.A.Sc. in Chemical Engineering (Hons.), 1989

Bar Admissions

• Yukon Territory, 2001
• British Columbia, 1994

Leadership

• Member, Canadian Bar Association, British Columbia Branch - Construction Law subsection
• Past Member, British Columbia Construction Roundtable
• Presenter at continuing education seminars held by architects, engineers and industry organizations regarding professional liability and environmental risk management issues
• Lecturer, Faculty of Engineering, University of British Columbia
• Lecturer, Continuing Legal Education Society of BC courses and Professional Legal Training (Bar Admission) course

Recognition

• Recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in Canada in the area of insurance law
• Recognized as a "Future Litigation Star" by Benchmark Litigation, a publication which references lawyers who are repeatedly recommended by clients and peers as reputable and effective litigators, 2012
  

Client Work

 Construction Litigation

• Acting for a leading architectural firm in the defence of allegations of professional negligence in the design of a large high-rise condominium. The case involved more than 30 named defendants, a large volume of documents and damages in excess of $12 million were claimed.
• Acting for a large, national geotechnical engineering firm in a number of actions arising from two large landslides. In total, more than 20 separate actions were commenced. In addition to the legal proceedings, Chris was involved in extensive negotiations with the provincial and municipal governments regarding issues of ongoing public safety. As lead counsel, Mr. Rusnak was responsible for case strategy, file management, conduct of examinations for discovery, guidance to paralegals and junior lawyers, instruction of experts and ultimately the case strategy that led to successful resolution on behalf of his client.
• Representing a joint venture of three international engineering firms who were sued over their involvement in large-scale expansion of a waste water treatment plant. The case related to alleged design and construction defects associated with the projects waste water digesters. There were thousands of documents, many days of discovery and extensive expert evidence of a technical nature.
• Counsel in over 100 cases relating to leaking condominiums and other buildings. These claims were generally large, complex multi-party proceedings. Damages claims range from $200,000 to $30 million, and there were often 20 or more parties involved in the claims.

Environmental Law

• Co-counsel on behalf of a port authority  in proceedings relating to historic hydrocarbon contamination of a large industrial site. Approximately 20 parties were involved in six concurrent actions seeking more than $35 million in clean-up costs. Document disclosure was extensive and the expert evidence highly technical. The matter proceeded to trial but was resolved by out-of-court settlement before the trial was completed.

Health Law

• Counsel in a series of matters involving claims by dozens of plaintiffs who alleged damages suffered due to sexual assaults allegedly committed while they were students of a former school teacher criminally convicted of sexual assault offences and designated a dangerous offender. Chris acted as counsel on behalf of a number of physicians named as defendants in the proceedings. The cases received significant media attention and, given its sensitive subject matter needed a carefully planned litigation strategy. In his role as lead counsel, Chris worked collaboratively with other counsel involved in the case to bring it to a successful resolution.
• Representing numerous physicians in a variety of disputes, including the defence of a paediatric cardiac surgeon  in the British Columbia Supreme Court and Court of Appeal. The case involved allegations of professional negligence arising from a surgical procedure on a child to repair a condition known as coarctation of the aorta.

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