Litigation

Commercial Litigation and arbitration

We resolve business disputes for private and public corporations, directors and officers, key employees, shareholders, partnerships and partners, business owners, property owners, creditors and other individuals with commercial claims, including disputes about:

  • shareholder disputes including claims for oppression, Securities Act violations, dissent and appraisal rights and remedies, and derivative claims;

  • creditor remedies, including mortgage enforcement proceedings, receivership proceedings, and oppression;

  • breach of contract;

  • supply chain issues;

  • breach of warranty and misrepresentation claims;

  • breach of fiduciary and statutory duties;

  • professional liability, particularly claims for professional negligence involving lawyers, auditors, financial advisors, directors & officers, and medical professionals;

  • fraud claims;

  • franchise disputes;

  • business defamation;

  • land and property claims, including neighbour disputes, trespass, easements, adverse possession, expropriation claims and Certificate of Pending Litigation;

  • employment claims by both employees and employers; and

  • claims for equitable relief including damages for loss of opportunity and/or unjust enrichment, constructive trust claims, claims for knowing receipt/ knowing assistance, Mareva injunctions, Norwich Orders and Anton Piller Orders.

We regularly serve as litigation counsel for debtor companies in pursuit of recoveries from estate claims and are well-versed in the legal and procedural frameworks set out under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act.

We have sector-specific experience in Aerospace & Defence, Agriculture, Art & Design, Automotive, Banking, Commercial Property Management, Commercial Real Estate Development, Entertainment & Media, Food & Beverage, Finance & Lending, Forestry, Hospitality, Information Technology, Manufacturing, Medical/ Dental Practices, Mining, Oil & Gas, Retail, Solar Energy, and Technology.

Selected Representative Cases

  • Advising and representing a commercial real estate developer in a series of interwoven claims breach of contract, oppression and various other shareholder and creditor remedies against its former partners

  • Representing a major automotive manufacturer with all employment, warranty and supply chain issues

  • Representing property owners in various property law suits against realtors, sellers, lawyers, neighbours, and contractors

  • Defending a security company against fraud allegations

  • Successfully defending a restauranteur against a spurious Mareva injunction

  • Representing a founding partner in a law firm dissolution arbitration

  • Representing an accountant in an arbitration disputing the existence of enterprise goodwill

  • Representing a former partner in a dispute over pension entitlements

  • Represented the Litigation Trustee of 1511419 Ontario Inc. (f/k/a The Cash Store Financial Services Inc.) in a series of law suits against its former directors, officers, auditors, lawyers, financial advisors and lenders for damages in excess of $200M

  • Represented an agriculture investment company in an action against former partners for fraud, conversion and constructive trust

  • Represented various microbreweries in equipment manufacturing disputes about defective brew equipment

  • Represented the dissenting shareholders of Baffinland Iron Mines Corporation in pursuit of shareholder remedies including a fair valuation for their shares

  • Represented a major international bank in a mortgage enforcement action

  • Represented a solar energy provider in a complex commercial arbitration with a former strategic partner

  • Represented executives in a series of wrongful terminations against an international public company

  • Represented a minor defendant in a digital trespass (hacking) case

  • Advised and represented a major Oil & Gas company in a shareholder dispute arbitration

  • Advised and represented the Litigation Trustee of Hollinger Inc. in advancing the litigation claims of the estate against five groups of defendants, resulting in stakeholder recoveries of about $40M

  • Acted in a proxy solicitation dispute for non-parties that were ultimately elected to the board of directors of Patheon Inc.

  • Represented a major Canadian business process services company in a $100 million private arbitration arising from a contractual dispute