Gregory J Tucker, K.C.

Greg Tucker is head of Owen Bird’s insurance group, and practices commercial litigation, with a focus on insurance, including the following areas:

Coverage. Greg advises insurers on coverage under a wide range of policies including commercial property, builders risk, general and commercial liability, wrap-up liability, professional liability, directors & officers, errors & omissions, hull and machinery, P&I, cargo, and environmental impairment.  Greg has acted as counsel or otherwise advised in complex coverage disputes, including disputes involving bad faith allegations, cross-border issues, complex trigger and allocation issues, reinsurance disputes, primary-excess disputes, and breach of warranty or condition.

Energy. Greg has acted as counsel and/or advised in a wide range of energy matters including pipeline, rig, plant, tank and platform failures. Greg has sat as a member of the British Columbia Oil and Gas Appeal Tribunal, the Forest Appeals Commission and the Environmental Appeal Board.

Marine. Greg has acted as counsel and/or advised in a wide range of maritime matters, including complex cargo claims, ship collisions, and crew injury claims. Greg acts in this area for P&I clubs, hull and machinery insurers, cargo insurers, port authorities and major terminals.

Defence and Subrogation. Greg has acted in a wide range of commercial litigation matters, as insurance defence counsel or otherwise, including product liability claims, aviation claims, mining disputes, social/commercial host liability claims, professional negligence claims, contract disputes, commercial agriculture disputes and shareholder disputes.

Class Actions. Greg regularly acts as defence counsel, coverage counsel and monitoring counsel in connection with class actions in various sectors, including historical abuse, product liability, competition and consumer protection and COVID-related matters.

Arbitration and Appraisal. Greg has acted as arbitrator and appraiser in connection with insurance disputes.

Non-Insurance Counsel Work. Greg occasionally acts as counsel in non-insurance matters, in certain specific areas of practice, including judicial reviews and statutory appeal, First Nations consultation/accommodation disputes, complex insolvency proceedings, and proceedings to enforce contractual/intellectual property rights.

Recent Decisions of Note. Greg was counsel for insurers in the Alberta Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court of Canada in Ledcor Construction Ltd. v Northbridge Insurance et al 2016 SCC 37. The case involved interpretation of the faulty design and workmanship exclusion in a builders risk policy, on “cost of making good” wording, and considered the standard of review applicable to interpretation of insurance policies. On standard of review the Court held that, in most cases, standard form insurance policy language, unlike most contracts, will be subject to a correctness standard of review on appeal. On the interpretation of builders risk policies, the Court affirmed prior caselaw considering the scope of the faulty design aspect of the exclusion, while holding that application of the faulty workmanship aspect of the exclusion turns on the scope of work of the party involved.

Greg was counsel for Glacier Resorts in the British Columbia Supreme Court, Court of Appeal and Supreme Court of Canada in Ktunaxa Nation Council et al v the Crown and Glacier Resorts Ltd. 2017 SCC 54. The case involved a challenge to a master development agreement granted to Glacier Resorts in connection with development of a ski resort in south‑east British Columbia. The challenge was brought primarily on the basis that the resort would infringe religious rights and freedoms under s.2(a) of the Charter, on a “sacred site” analysis. The Court held that there was no infringement, on the basis that s.2(a) applies to protect the right to hold and manifest beliefs, but could not apply to protect the object of those beliefs, such as a particular place. The Court also clarified the limited scope of judicial review in consultation, and clarified certain aspects of the duty to consult generally.