Skeetchestn Indian Band and Secwepemc Aboriginal Nation v. Registrar of Land Titles, Kamloops, 2000 BCCA 525

Skeetchestn Indian Band and Secwepemc Aboriginal Nation v. Registrar of Land Titles, Kamloops, 2000 BCCA 525

Canada

Land title system

Indigenous land

legal systems

Legal order

This decision of the British Columbia Court of Appeal addressed whether a provincial land titles Registrar properly refused to attached a note of "lis pendens" (pending litigation) to the title of land slated to be developed into recreational facilities by one of the defendants in the case, Kamlands. The land in question represents traditional territory of Skeetchestn Indian Band and Secwepemc Aboriginal Nation, but was not yet subject to a treaty. The government of British Columbia sought to transfer this land to Kamlands for development. The Secwepemc Aboriginal Nation sought to restrain this transfer by attaching the lis pendens to the title. The B.C. land titles Registrar refused to attach the lis pendens, however; This decision was challenged. The BC Superior Court held that the Registrar was correct in making this refusal, and the BC Court of Appeal upheld this decision. The BC Court of Appeal held that litigation relating to a land claim is not capable of being the type of litigation that would give rise to a lis pendens. Land claims litigation occurs in the Federal Courts and are "up stream". Land claims litigation does not meet the criteria under the law of British Columbia for giving rise to a lis pendens on the certificate of indefeasible title.

British Columbia Court of Appeal

Skeetchestn Indian Band and Secwepemc Aboriginal Nation v. Registrar of Land Titles, Kamloops, 2000 BCCA 525, online: http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/ca/00/05/c00-0525.htm

British Columbia Court of Appeal

Canadian Legal Information Institute: CanLii.org

Sept. 26, 2000

(c) British Columbia Court of Appeal

(C) Canadian Legal Information Institute

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