Court Ruling – Update from BCMA

As members may be aware, the Supreme Court of British Columbia has rendered it’s ruling in the case of Dr. Caroline Wang vs. BCMA.  

Dr. Wang filed a suit for defamation and breach of contract in 2009/10.  Earlier, the Supreme Court ruled against the BCMA, stating it had breached its rules and the BC Society Act. The board appealed that decision, and in January 2010 the Court of Appeal overturned the lower court decision. A full canvassing of the issues took place during a 24-day trial, and this week the court brought down its decision.  
   
The court ruled that the defendants acted in good faith, and dismissed the claim for defamation.  The court also found that the BCMA breached its contract with Dr. Wang by failing to provide full procedural fairness in the composition and mandate of the special committee formed to review her conduct. We acknowledge that this has been a difficult time for the BCMA and we have learned from this experience. Like many organizations, we have over the last few years taken steps to be more responsive to our members. We look forward to continuing to do our work for the physicians of BC in a way that is respectful of all our members. 

For a copy of the ruling on the Internet, please click here.

Added March 25, 2013:

Dr Wang has filed an appeal from the decision of Mr Justice Grauer against some, but not all of the defendants.