Practice Profile

Practice consists of acting for a broad range of Canadian and international clients in the areas of international commercial litigation and/or arbitration, civil litigation, business torts, corporate litigation, class actions and administrative law.  Litigation management advice provided to foreign counsel with respect to the prosecution or defence of actions in Ontario, including coordination of international debt recovery efforts. Numerous reported and unreported decisions in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Court of Appeal for Ontario, the Federal Court of Canada and various provincial and federal administrative tribunals and commissions.

Representative Cases

• Langford v. 1734141 Ontario Limited, 2008 CanLII 67413 (ON S.C.), 2008 CarswellOnt 7803 (Ont. S.C.J.).
• Suraleb Inc. v. Production Association “MTW Tractor Works”, Republic of Belarus, Court File No. 08-CV-349415PD1-July 9, 2008 (unreported) (Ont. S.C.J.).
• ATI Technologies ULC v. Henderson Robb Group, 2008 CanLII 11046 (ON S.C.), [2008] O.J. No. 1017, 41 C.B.R. (5th) 94, 2008 CarswellOnt 1418, 2008 WL 726946, 165 A.C.W.S. (3d) 779, CanLII 11046 (Ont. S.C.J—in Bankruptcy) (see also companion decisions: William E. Robb Enterprises Inc. v. ATI Technologies Inc., 2006 CanLII 39466 (ON S.C.)[2006] O.J. No. 4711; 153 A.C.W.S. (3d) 831(Ont. S.C.J.) and ATI Technologies Inc. v. William E. Robb Enterprises Inc. et al., 2006 CanLII 32605 (ON S.C.), [2006] O.J. No. 3780 (Ont. S.C.J.).
• Tapscott Village Co-Operative Inc. v. Bullin, 2008 CanLII 4258 (ON S.C.).
• Ivandaev v. Hlembizky, 2006 CanLII 22568 (Ont. C.A.).
• Standard Trust Company v. Metropolitan Trust Company of Canada, 2006 CanLII 589 (ON S.C.),(2006) 21 E.T.R. (3d) 237; (2006) 40 R.P.R. (4th) 27; (2006) 144 A.C.W.S. (3d) 1130 (Ont. S.C.J.); aff’d Standard Trust Company v. Metropolitan Trust Company of Canada, 2007 ONCA 897 (CanLII), [2007] O.J. No. 5002; 2007 ONCA 897; 232 O.A.C. 74; 36 E.T.R. (3d) 209; 62 R.P.R. (4th) 161; 162 A.C.W.S. (3d) 938; 2007 CarswellOnt 8279 (Ont. C.A.).
• 1162994 Ontario Inc. v. Bakker, 2004 CanLII 59995 (ON C.A.), [2004] O.J. No. 2565 (Ont. C.A.).
• Shane v. JCB Belgium N.V., 2003 CanLII 49357 (ON S.C.).
• Canadian Fashion Merchandising Corporation v. CIBC (2000) 106 O.T.C. 317, (2000) 95 A.C.W.S. (3d) 237 (Ont. S.C.J.).
• Decision No. 463/02, 2002 ONWSIAT 1088 (CanLII).
• Drljo, Re. 2001 CanLII 28107 (ON S.C.), (2000) 21 C.B.R. (4th) 259 (Ont. S.C.J.-Bankruptcy Court).
• Decision No. 3051/00, 2001 ONWSAIT 363 (CanLII)
• Serra v. Paniccia (Ont. S.C.J.-unreported -- per Somers, J.), varied on other grounds, [1999] O.J. No. 4707 (Ont. C.A.).
• Decision No. 1391/97, 1997 CanLII 12747 (ON W.S.I.A.T.)
• Shaw v. Allstate Insurance Company, [1997] O.I.C.D. No. 86 (O.I.C. per Arbitrator Blackman), aff’d [1998] O.I.C.D. No. 181(FSCO- Director of Arbitrations, per Susan Naylor, Director's Delegate).
• Ultramar Canada Inc. v.Mutual Marine Insurance Office Inc., 1994 CanLII 3505 (F.C.T.D.) [1995] 1 F.C. 341, (1994) 82 F.T.R. 1, [1995] I.L.R. 1 – 3195 (F.C.T.D.). >

• "An ‘Unconventional Truth’: Conflict of Law Issues Arising under the CISG", NORDIC JOURNAL OF COMMERCIAL LAW, Issue 1, April 2009 (forthcoming).
• “Recent Private International Law Developments Before the Supreme Court of Canada”, The Globetrotter, Ontario Bar Association-International Law Section Newsletter, Vol. 13, No. 2, March 2009.
• “Staking Claims Against Foreign Defendants in Canada: Choice of Law and Jurisdiction Issues Arising from the In Personam Exception to theMoçambique Rule for Foreign Immovables” (2009) 35 Adv. Q. 230.
• “'Winning is Only Half the Battle': Procedural Issues Relating to the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards”, in V.V.L. Gayathri (Ed.) INTERNATIONAL COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION- CLAIMS AND COUNTERCLAIMS, (Hyderabad, India: Amicus Books-ICFAI University Press, 2009).
• “CASE NOTE: Opinion of Advocate General Kokott in Allianz SpA (formerly Riunione Adriatica Di Sicurta SpA) and Others v West Tankers Inc. (Case C-185/07 delivered on 4 September 2008)” Transnational Dispute Management (TDM) (2009, forthcoming) and The Globetrotter, OBA International Law Section Newsletter,Vol. 13, No. 1 (October 2008).
• “Choice of Law in International Agreements: What Should Parties Watch For? (Canada)”, The International Commercial Practitioner, American Bar Association (ABA) publication of the International Commercial Transactions, Franchising and Distribution Committee, 5-6.
• "All Quiet on the CISG Front: Guiliani v. Invar Manufacturing, the Battle of the Forms, and the Elusive Concept of Terminus Fixus" (2008), 46 C.B.L.J. 430 (Co-Authored with James M. Klotz and Peter Mazzacano).
• “A Strategic Functionalist Approach to International Commercial Mediation”, (2008) ICFAI Journal of ADR, Vol. VII, No. 2, 37-58; Transnational Dispute Management (TDM) (Special Issue on Arbitrator Bias), Vol. 5, No. 4, July 2008.
• “The Trial Warrior: Applying Sun Tzu’s The Art of War to Trial Advocacy” (2008) 45 Alta. L. Rev. 1017-1035.
• “Time Is On My Side, Yes It Is (No It’s Not)”: Are proceedings to enforce a foreign arbitral award subject to a limitation period? CBA International Law Section Bulletin (February, 2008).
• “The ‘Third Option’: International Commercial Mediation” (2007) World Arb. & Med. Rev. (WAMR) Vol. 1 No. 4, 563-587.
• “Enforcing Foreign Summary/Default Judgments: The Damoclean Sword Hanging Over Pro Se Canadian Corporate Defendants? U.S.A. v. Shield Development”, (2007) 7 Can. Int’l  Lawyer (No.1), 8-23; reprinted in NATURAL JUSTICE-EXPANDING HORIZONS, R. Satya Narayana (ed.) (Hyderabad, India: Amicus Books-ICFAI University Press, 2009), 192-221.
• “‘Thinking Globally, Acting Locally’: Recent Trends in the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Canada”, in ANNUAL REVIEW OF CIVIL LITIGATION 2006, ARCHIBALD, Mr. Justice Todd L. and ECHLIN, Mr. Justice Randall (eds.) (Toronto: Carswell, 2007) pp. 141-199.
• “‘To Boldly Go Where No One Has (Arbitrated) Before': The Star Trek Mythos as an Heuristic Paradigm for Jurisdictional and Arbitration Issues”, OBA Briefly Speaking, July/August 2007 Issue.
• "Trial and Error--Balancing the Scales of Justice through the Doctrines of Stare Decisis and Ex Proprio Motu", OBA Civil Litigation Section Newsletter, Vol. 15, No. 3, pp. 8-11, March 2007.
• "Cross-border High Anxiety? Offensive and Defensive Strategies in Transnational Litigation: Offensive Strategies", The Globetrotter,  Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 6-11, March 2007; reprinted in FOREIGN JUDGEMENTS: ENFORCEABILITY, P. Satyanarayana Prasad (ed.) (Hyderabad, India: Amicus Books-ICFAI University Press, 2009).
• “The (CISG) Road Less Travelled”:GreCon Dimter Inc. v. J.R. Normand Inc., (2006) 44 Can. Bus. L. J. 92-114; reprinted in the International Bar Association (IBA)-International Sales Newsletter, Vol. No. 26, September 2008, 7-17.
• “‘Bringing Locus into Focus’: A Choice-of-Law Methodology for CISG-based Concurrent Contract and Product Liability Claims”, in REVIEW OF THE CONVENTION ON CONTRACTS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL SALE OF GOODS (CISG) 2004-2005, Pace International Law Review (ed.) (München: Sellier European Law Publishers, 2006), 179-223.
• "The Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements",The Globetrotter, OBA International Law Section Newsletter, Vol. 10, No. 1, 2-5, September 2005.
• "Strangers in a Strange Land": Transnational Litigation, Foreign Judgment Recognition, and Enforcement in Ontario, (2004) 13 J. Transnat’l L. & Pol’y 347-391.

Speaking Engagements, Conferences and Seminars

Speaker: “Application of the CISG by Default”, Presentation at the Third Quadrennial International Conference on Comparative Private International Law, Institute For Private International Law In Africa-University Of Johannesburg,  September 9-11, 2009, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Speaker:  “Application of the CISG by Default”, CISG Hot Spots for Commercial Lawyers and Litigators, CLE Program co-sponsored by the CBA Section on International Law and the OBA International Law Section, March 10, 2009, Toronto, Canada.
Guest Lecturer: Queen’s University Faculty of Law, Commercial Law: The CISG: An Overview”, Upper Year Law Course, Course Instructor: Prof. Tanya J. Monestier, November 10, 2008, Kingston, Canada.
Sessional Lecturer: “Legal Process Advanced” Course (IFA2902) Fall 2008, Diploma in Investigative & Forensic Accounting (DIFA) Capstone Program, University of Toronto at Mississauga, Ontario.
Evaluator/Judge: Diploma in Investigative & Forensic Accounting (DIFA) Capstone Program (2007, 2008), University of Toronto at Mississauga, Ontario.
Advisory Committee Member: “Crisis Litigation: The Role of The Lawyer”, International Bar Association Litigation Conference, June 19-20, 2008, Toronto, Canada.
Program Co-Chair: "International Legal Issues for Today’s Business Lawyer: Challenges and Solutions", Ontario Bar Association 2008 Institute of Continuing Legal Education, February 5, 2008, Toronto, Canada.
Guest Speaker: OBA International Law Section Program: “International Law - Sea Changes in Canadian Conflict of Laws Practice: An Update,” May 30, 2007, Toronto, Canada.
Guest Speaker: 2007 OBA Annual Institute of Continuing Legal Education-Special Event, "International Breakfast: Cross-border High Anxiety?: Offensive and Defensive Strategies in Transnational Litigation", February 7, 2007, Toronto, Canada.
Guest Lecturer: University of Western Ontario Law School, 402A Commercial Law: “The CISG-An Overview”, Upper Year Law Course, Course Instructor: Prof. Jassmine Girgis, October 2, 2006, London, Canada.
Guest Lecturer: University of Toronto Law School, Legal Process: “Where to Litigate: Jurisdiction and Forum Non Conveniens”, First Year Law Course, Course Instructor: Prof. Kenneth E. Jull, October 11, 2005; October 5, 2006, Toronto, Canada.
Moderator, Judge's Panel: “The Most Common Evidentiary Mistakes…And How to Avoid Them” 2nd Annual Conference- Evidence Law for the Civil Litigator, Osgoode Hall Law School-Professional Development Program, September 23, 2005, Toronto, Canada.
Guest Speaker: “Rule 76-Simplified Procedure”, Your First Civil Trial: Practical Tips from Top Practitioners, OBA –CLE Program (Civil Litigation Division-Young Lawyers Division), February 25, 2005, Toronto, Canada.

Professional Affiliations/Achievements