Joe has practiced product liability and aviation law with J.J. Camp, K.C. since his days as an articling student in 1988. Since that time, Joe has developed a vast wealth of experience in aviation and product liability cases. He has handled cases arising from accidents from coast to coast to coast in Canada and from diverse foreign jurisdictions such as China, New Caledonia, Mexico, Germany and the Republic of the Maldives. These claims have included mid-air collisions, in-flight break ups, catastrophic component failures as well as numerous cases against air carriers under the Warsaw and Montreal Conventions. He has successfully litigated cases against virtually all of the major helicopter and components manufacturers. His work on the Air France 358 class action was described by the judge approving the settlement as having achieved “real justice for real people”.

Joe is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and Litigation Counsel of America. He is the former chair of the Canadian Bar Association Air and Space Law section and served as an advisor to the Government of Canada at a recent United Nations ICAO conference on two new international aviation treaties.

Joe is the former Chair of and one of the driving forces behind Project Somos, a Vancouver based charity that is building an innovative and economically and environmentally sustainable village for orphaned children in Guatemala.

Representative Experience

• Honour v. Attorney General, et al., Joe, Sharon and J.J. represented the families of a helicopter pilot and passenger who were killed when a Enstrom 280C helicopter caught fire and crashed near Duncan, BC on September 17,2005, resulting in the deaths of the pilot and passengers. The case established that Transport Canada owes a duty of care to users of the civil aviation system and can be sued by victims of an aviation accident for failing to regulate the conduct of an approved aircraft maintenance facility. The case settled out of court.
• Wyman v. Fammarz S.R.L., Joe and Reidar teamed with Kelowna counsel to represent a 13 year old boy who suffered a catastrophic brain injury when the fork of his mountain bike failed due to metal fatigue. The case involved complex issues of materials and mechanical engineering design and settled out of court.
• Abdulrahim v. Air France, 2011 ONSC 398. Joe and J.J. acted as lead counsel for over 200 passengers in a class action arising out of the crash of an Airbus A340 aircraft at Toronto Pearson airport. The case involved complex claims under the Warsaw and Montreal Conventions as well as against the air traffic control providers and the airport authority. The case also made innovative use of a bar order to achieve partial settlement of the case (CITE).
• Sikorsky S-92 Crash of the Coast of Newfoundland. J.J., Joe and Sharon acted for the families of 15 passengers killed in the crash of a Sikorsky S-92 helicopter off the coast of Newfoundland as well as for the sole survivor of the crash. The case involved complex product liability and cross border issues and was settled out of court.