P: (604) 891-7224
F: (604) 682-5217
E: jvamplew@wt.ca
Add to address book:
Download vCard

Assistant:
Danielle Bullen
P: (604) 443-3479
E: dbullen@wt.ca

• Business Loss
• Class Action
• Health & Disability
• Insurance
• Manufacturing Risks
• Professional Liability
• Subrogation
• *John A. Vamplew Law Corporation

Profile

John Vamplew is the Chair of Whitelaw Twining’s Subrogation and Business Loss Groups, and he is also a member of the firm’s Insurance and Manufacturing Risks Groups. John's particular areas of experience include:

• advising insurers on coverage obligations under all types of policies including CGL, Comprehensive Homeowners, Boiler & Machinery, E&O, Life, Accident and Disability
• acting for insurers with respect to insurance coverage litigation
• acting for defendants in professional negligence claims, with particular emphasis on claims against those involved in the health care industry
• acting for defendants in property damage and casualty claims, with particular emphasis on fire losses, product liability, occupiers liability and construction deficiency claims
• acting for insurers on subrogated claims

John’s recent court cases include:

• Cordova v. Coolman, 2010 BCSC 22 (successfully obtained an Order that the insurer did not owe a duty to defend)
• Puri v. Axa Pacific Insurance Co. (12 June 2009), Williams Lake 0315344 (B.C.S.C.) (successfully obtained an Order that a claim for damage to a rental property was not covered)
• Jordon v. CGU Insurance Co., 2004 BCSC 402 (successfully obtained an Order that a claim for property damage was excluded from coverage)
• Hokhold v. CGU Insurance Co., (8 September 2004), Vernon S32005 (B.C.S.C.) (successfully obtained an Order that a claim for property damage and business interruption was not covered)

Education

LL.B., University of New Brunswick, 1994
B.A., University of British Columbia, 1990

Professional Memberships & Affiliations

Called to the British Columbia Bar in 1995
Called to the Northwest Territories Bar in 2002
Chair (2010-2012), National Insurance Section, Canadian Bar Association
Past Chair, BC Insurance Section, Canadian Bar Association
Contributing Editor of the Insurance Law Journal
Guest Lecturer, Civil Litigation, B.C. Professional Legal Training Course
Member of the Canadian Bar Association Insurance Law, Civil Litigation, and Construction Law Sections

Publications

John has written articles on many aspects of insurance law and civil litigation. He frequently presents seminars for clients, professional groups, and industry groups on these topics. A selection of John’s work includes:

• Editor of Whitelaw Twining’s insurance coverage newsletter, WT Under Cover (click here to see most recent release)
• The New Supreme Court Civil Rules: Implications for Claims Handlers (2010, Whitelaw Twining website)
• Ten Things Property and Casualty Insurers Should Know About the Proposed Amendments to the B.C. Insurance Act, Underwritings (Canadian Bar Association, April 2009)
• Case Comment: Jesuit Fathers of Upper Canada v. Guardian Insurance Co. of Canada, (2007) 25 Canadian Journal of Insurance Law 1 at 11
• Subrogation: Basic Principles, Emerging Trends and Practical Considerations, Insurance Law Conference 2006 (Continuing Legal Education Society of B.C., 2006)
• Allocation of Defence Costs Between Insurer and Insured in 'Long-Tail' Claims, (2004) 8 Insurance Law 485 at 486
• Tort Reform in British Columbia (paper presented to the B.C. Risk and Insurance Management Association, January 21, 2004)
• Expanding the Scope of Coverage Under Builder’s Risk Policies to Include Contractors and Sub-Contractors (2003, Whitelaw Twining website)
• The Meaning of "Accident" - Out of the Serbonian Bog, (2003) 8 Insurance Law 441 at 442
• The Life Insured’s Duty to Disclose and the Consequences of Material Misrepresentation and Non-Disclosure (paper presented to the 2003 Canadian Life & Health Insurance Association Claims Conference)
• Excess Insurance in Canada: The Rights and Duties Between the Insured, the Primary Insurer and the Excess Insurer (paper presented at the Canadian Litigation Counsel conference on Insurance Coverage, September 12, 2002)
• Multiple Causes of a Loss: The Decision in Derksen v. 539938 Ontario Ltd. (2002, Whitelaw Twining website)
• The CGL "Care, Custody and Control" Exclusion: A Case Comment on I.C.B.C. v. General Accident (2002, Whitelaw Twining website)
• Offers to Settle and Costs in the Wake of Brown v. Lowe (2002, Whitelaw Twining website)
• Court of Appeal Rejects Social Host Liability Decision (2002, Whitelaw Twining website)
• Contributor to the text by H.A. Sanderson et al., Commercial General Liability Insurance (Toronto: Butterworths, 2000)

Interests

When not practicing law, John and his wife Crystal spend most of their time chasing their two young boys. As time permits, John also enjoys mountain biking, cheering for the Vancouver Canucks, and taking part in volunteer and charitable endeavours. John was a volunteer at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, he is a past campaign co-ordinator for the United Way, and a past Director of the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

« Back to Lawyers by Name