Amanda Richards

Amanda has a general commercial and administrative litigation practice, with experience working on a wide range of matters including shareholder and contract disputes, product liability, real estate disputes, construction and infrastructure claims, leases, debt recovery, professional negligence and government relations.

Amanda has represented clients and assisted on matters before all levels of court in British Columbia and Alberta. She also has experience with various administrative tribunals and regulatory bodies, domestic and international arbitrations, and pre-trial mediations and dispute resolution processes.

Amanda is dedicated to providing pro bono services to the community, and is an active volunteer with Access Pro Bono’s Roster Programs.

Before joining Hunter Litigation Chambers, Amanda articled and practiced at an international law firm in Calgary, Alberta. Amanda received her law degree from the University of British Columbia in 2020, where she was involved with several student initiatives. Most memorably, Amanda sat on the Indigenous Law Students’ Association executive committee for all three years of law school and was elected in as President for her final year. Amanda is a proud member of Zagime Anishinabek First Nations in Saskatchewan.

Notable Cases

Townsend v. Donohue, 2023 BCSC 684 (with Brian Duong): trial counsel in a dispute over beneficial ownership of a property in Mission, and maintenance of a Family Maintenance Enforcement Program charge on that property.

Royal Bank of Canada v Rose, 2022 BCSC 1472: counsel for the applicant in successfully setting aside a default judgment originally obtained by the respondent bank. Justice Hughes determined that a “failure to set aside the default judgment in these circumstances would result in a grossly unfair outcome and thereby give rise to a miscarriage of justice”.

News

September 2023

A team comprised of Claire E. Hunter, K.C., Brian Duong, Julia Roos, Susan Humphrey, Amanda Richards, Hayden Cook, and Elspeth Adhihetty (articled student) represented His Majesty the King in right of the Province of British Columbia and the Minister of Education and Child Care in respect of a series of applications filed as part of ongoing litigation with the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique and the Vancouver Board of Education. Copies of the resulting decisions can be found here: 2023 BCSC 1554 (adjournment); 2023 BCSC 1332 (document production); and 2023 BCSC 1281 (pleadings).

March 2023

Hunter Litigation Chambers was proud to represent Crystal Smith and Raymond Shaw in their application to permit registration of their baby son λugʷaləs K'ala'ask Shaw’s name on his birth certificate. Our clients reached a resolution with the British Columbia Vital Statistics Agency to permit the use Kwak̓wala characters on the birth certificate for their son. The Hunter Litigation Chambers team working on this matter included Claire Hunter K.C., Nicole Gilewicz, Aubin Calvert and Amanda Richards.

Claire Hunter K.C. and Caitlin Ehman acted for an Indigenous child protection agency in successfully resisting an application for access by former foster parents. Amanda Richards assisted in preparing the materials for this application. The reasons for judgment are indexed as J.W. v. British Columbia (Director of Child, Family and Community Service), 2023 BCSC 512.

August 2022

Amanda Richards successfully represented her client in an application set aside a default judgment originally obtained by the respondent bank. Justice Hughes determined that a “failure to set aside the default judgment in these circumstances would result in a grossly unfair outcome and thereby give rise to a miscarriage of justice”. The Court ordered the funds garnished from the client to be returned, that the respondent was not entitled to any of its costs in respect of the default judgment, and granted her client leave to file a response to civil claim. The reasons for judgment in Royal Bank of Canada v Rose, 2022 BCSC 1472 can be found here.

April 2022

On April 29, Claire Hunter was a panelist at the 18th National Symposium on Class Actions put on by Osgoode Hall Law School Professional Development. Claire presented on current issues in class action practice in British Columbia on the “Cross Country Check-up” panel.

Claire Hunter led a team including Hunter Litigation Chambers associates Susan Humphrey, Amanda Richards and Stacey Waterman and co-counsel Nicholas Isaac representing Her Majesty the Queen in Right of the Province of British Columbia and the Minister of Education of the Province of British Columbia in a successful motion to strike a number of paragraphs of the notice of civil claim filed by the Conseil scolaire francophone de la Colombie-Britannique. Justice Gomery’s reasons for judgment are available here.

March 2022

HLC congratulates Amanda Richards on being awarded the 2021 Courage in Law Award for 2021 by the UBC Indigenous Law Students Association. The annual Courage in Law Award was created by the Association to recognize distinguished professional or academic accomplishments relating to courageous leadership and outstanding service. Recipients of the award are champions who display the highest ideals of the legal community in respect of the advancement of legal services for Indigenous peoples and fostering diversity within the legal profession.