Corporate and Commercial Litigation

Many of the major commercial litigation decisions in British Columbia and Canada have been argued by Harper Grey lawyers. We frequently argue and defend some of the largest cases in the province. We have been recognized in Lexpert Canada's  list of "Who's Who in Commercial Litigation" .

We care passionately about the disputes that our clients face. We work hard not only to deliver superior settlements but also to return a sense of security and ease to their world. Good settlements and positive resolutions occur not by happenstance, but from intense attention to detail.

Our clients appreciate our honest appraisals and direct approach.

We appreciate that if it were possible to choose, many clients would select a good negotiated settlement. When it is in the clients' best interest, we engage in mediation and arbitration.  In our experience, the best starting point in all instances, is to regard the situation as if it were to be taken to court.  This ensures the most effective results, whether the dispute is resolved through mediation, settlement or in court.

Our large group of talented lawyers means we can take on complex cases, drawing on the specific skills and experience of individual lawyers as needed. Combined with our superb litigation support and a highly sophisticated document management system, the benefit for you as a client is a high degree of expertise and efficiency under one roof.

Our Areas of Focus

• Corporate and commercial litigation
• Contractual disputes  
• Defamation
• Insolvency and foreclosures
• Securities litigation 
• Shareholder disputes, including oppression remedies and derivative actions
• Enforcement of security, including foreclosures and debenture holders actions  
• Recovery actions
• Criminal law and white collar crime
• Mass torts and class actions
• Real estate litigation
• Estate litigation
• Employment litigation
• Products liability litigation
• Professional liability
• Insurance coverage
• Intellectual property litigation

Representative Experience

• Representing the liquidator of the Christian Brothers of Ireland in Canada in ground breaking litigation to sell trust properties, including private schools to satisfy outstanding claims for sexual abuse perpetrated by individual Christian Brothers at the Mount Cashel orphanage in Newfoundland. The liquidator ultimately made a recovery of $19 million by way of settlement.
• Representing defendants in the litigation following the collapse of two large financial institutions, Eron Mortgage Corporation and the Legion Credit Union.
• Representing Kuehne & Nagel International at the Supreme Court of Canada in a landmark decision which changed the law by allowing third parties to claim the benefit of an exclusion clause in a contract to which they were not a party. This case also explored the boundaries between the law of contract and the law of tort and is recognized as the seminal decision in the ongoing debate concerning vicarious liability.
• Representing an employer before the British Columbia Supreme Court and the British Columbia Court of Appeal concerning vicarious liability for an independent contractor.
• Representing the defendants in the combined trial of corporate oppression and derivative actions in Discovery Enterprises v. Ebco Industries.

For more significant cases, please read the profiles of lawyers in this group.

Contact Person

Richard Attisha chairs our Commercial Litigation practice group.  You are welcome to contact him at  604 895 2811 or via email.